Method and system for transporting data content on a storage area network

ABSTRACT

A system and method of transporting volumes of information from one host computer system to another using point-in-time copies of LUNs but wherein the hardware provider does not necessarily understand the volume configuration of the data. The system and method involves an intermediate layer, i.e., a point-in-time copy interface layer that communicates with both a requesting host computer system and a hardware provider to enable the transfer of volumes of information without requiring that the hardware provider understand the volume information.

Related application

This application is a continuation of prior U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/072,126, entitled “Method and System for Transporting DataContent on a Storage Area Network,” filed Feb. 7, 2002, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to storage area networks (SANs) and morespecifically to the transfer of information from one host computersystem to another host computer system in a SAN.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

System Area Networks (SANs) provide significant benefits as compared toother network configurations. Typical SANs are highly localized havingmultiple server or host computer systems communicating with each otherand sharing one or more storage subsystems and possibly tape, optical orother backup media changers. Additionally, many SANs have multiple hostcomputer systems that may be used to perform several different butcomplimentary functions. For example, one host computer system may beused for end-user applications while a second host computer system maybe used to perform background, administration type functions such asbacking up end-user application data or other system data or forperforming extended query resolution on large databases of information.Using two host computer systems in such a manner significantly improvesthe performance of the system since the two may operate substantially inparallel.

One issue that arises when configuring a SAN to utilize two or more hostcomputer systems to operate in parallel relates to the sharing of thedata used by each host computer system. That is, the end-user hostcomputer system may require access to a specific volume of informationstored either locally on its own computer system or on a storagesubsystem that is connected to the SAN. The storage subsystem may havean extensive amount of storage capabilities and may in fact providestorage for many other host computer systems in the SAN. Additionallyhowever, the specific volume requested by the first host computer systemmay also be needed by the second host computer system in order toperform its functions. Such conflicts typically need to be resolved inorder for both host computer systems to access the information and tooperate in a more optimal manner.

Of particular concern is the case where the second computer systemrequires a relatively exact, read-only copy of all the data on a volumeof information. A volume relates to portions of memory that have beenlogically combined and presented to a host computer system such that thehost computer system views the volume as one portion of memory, e.g., asingle disk or a single drive of information.

One solution to this problem involves the first computer system sendingall the information, over the network, to the second computer system.Unfortunately however, this method significantly saturates the networkand reduces the performance of the network and is thereforeunsatisfactory.

A second solution to transferring information relates to the use of a“point-in-time copy” of the data, also referred to as “shadow copies” or“snapshots.” Point-in-time copies are physical copies of data that arecreated by a storage subsystem. In essence, there are quite of fewstorage systems that have the capability of quickly and efficientlycreating a “mirror” or a point-in-time copy of a portion of the physicalstorage in their respective systems. The point-in-time copy, therefore,relates to a full physical copy of information stored in another portionof the storage subsystem. Since the point-in-time copy is stored inanother portion of the storage subsystem, the second computer system maybe provided direct access, without conflict, to the point-in-time copy.Providing access of the point-in-time copy to the second computer systemis referred to as transferring ownership of the data from the firstcomputer system to the other computer system, i.e., transporting thecontent to the second machine.

Creation of a point-in-time copy is done by a storage subsystem, whichis typically controlled by a hardware provider. Unfortunately however,hardware providers generally operate at the “LUN” level. A LUN is aLogical Unit Number and relates to a virtual device that is “surfaced”by the storage subsystem. A LUN may correspond to a spindle in thestorage subsystem or a set of spindles. From the perspective of the hostor host computer system accessing a LUN, the LUN looks like a disk whichcan be used to construct volumes. Hence, volumes are typically a subsetof a LUN, but often, a volume may be spread over various LUNs.

Hardware surfaced point-in-time copies (i.e., copies created with thehelp of a hardware subsystem) results in the creation of a new LUN foreach original LUN of the volume. The new LUN may be a new, full physicalcopy or may be an existing copy created using copy-on-write technology.Unfortunately however, transportation of data content typically occursat the LUN level, not at the volume level. That is, although a LUN maybe transported separately from the original LUN to a different machine,there is a considerable amount of work that must be done by a receivingcomputer system to understand what portions of the LUN are relevant,where those items are located, etc.

A common requirement for both these scenarios is to capture what theapplication data is (i.e., the databases, files, etc.) as well ascapture the physical representation of the volumes on which that dataresides (i.e., the LUNs). The LUNs and the application data (i.e., howthe data is mapped onto the LUNs) need to be surfaced on the machine towhich the data is transported. Unfortunately however, hardwaremechanisms for creating point-in-time copies operate on the LUN leveland therefore there is no way to access data based on volumes that maybe spread across several LUNs. Additionally, within a SAN environment,there may be multiple storage subsystems that may be capable of creatingpoint-in-time copies wherein each subsystem is made by differentvendors. Unfortunately, in such an environment, each requestor orimporter must be aware of specific hardware components for thesesubsystems in order to import a point-in-time copy.

It is with respect to these and other considerations that the presentinvention has been made.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method of transportingvolumes of information from one host computer system to another usingpoint-in-time copies of LUNs but wherein the hardware provider does notnecessarily understand the volume configuration of the data. Indeed, thepresent invention relates to an intermediate layer, i.e., apoint-in-time copy interface layer that communicates with both arequesting host computer system and a hardware provider to enable thetransfer of volumes of information without requiring that the hardwareprovider understand the volume information.

In accordance with particular aspects, the present invention relates toa system having a storage subsystem module that stores data for at leastone host computer system and wherein the data is generally stored in oneor more LUNs. Additionally, the system has a requestor module, such ahost computer system, for requesting the transportation of data storedin the storage subsystem, the transportation involving the transfer ofinformation from a first host computer system to a second host computersystem. The requesting module requests the transportation of volume ofinformation stored on a portion of one or more LUNs. The system also hasa point-in-time copy interface module for receiving the request andgenerating an instruction to create a point-in-time copy, wherein theinstruction comprises identification information related to LUNs havingportions of the volume to be copied. A provider module is also part ofthe system and it receives the instruction to create a point-in-timecopy of the LUNs and creates the point-in-time copy of those LUNs. Theprovider module also provides mapping information to the point-in-timecopy interface relating to location information for the point-in-timecopy. Moreover, the point-in-time copy interface may further generate abackup components document describing the volume to be transported suchthat an importer module for importing the backup components document,and using the information in the backup components document can thenaccess the point-in-time copy of the volume to be transported.

In accordance with other aspects, the present invention relates to amethod of transporting data from a sending host computer system to areceiving host computer system, wherein the data is stored on volume ofinformation. The method involves creating a point-in-time copy of thevolume; generating a backup components document, wherein the documentincludes location information for point-in-time copy; importing thebackup components document to the receiving host computer system; andaccessing the point-in-time copy using information in the backupcomponents document.

In another embodiment, the method relates to creating a point-in-timecopy of each LUN having a portion of the volume to transported; markingportions of the LUN to identify the portions as being associated withthe volume to be transported; and then hiding portions of the LUN notassociated with the volume to be transported. In accordance with otheraspects, the marking act marks the portions of the LUN associated withthe volume and in other embodiment the marking act marks portions of theLUN that are not associated with the volume. In yet another embodiment,the method relates to transporting data in a plurality of volumes andthe backup component document includes information to describe theplurality of volumes. The backup components document may be an XMLdocument.

The invention may be implemented as a computer process, a computingsystem or as an article of manufacture such as a computer programproduct. The computer program product may be a computer storage mediumreadable by a computer system and encoding a computer program ofinstructions for executing a computer process. The computer programproduct may also be a propagated signal on a carrier readable by acomputing system and encoding a computer program of instructions forexecuting a computer process.

A more complete appreciation of the present invention and itsimprovements can be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings,which are briefly summarized below, to the following detail descriptionof presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and to the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system area network that incorporates aspects ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a computer system that may be used according toparticular aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating functional components of thesystem area network shown in FIG. 1 and incorporating aspects of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a logical depiction of a volume spread acrossmultiple LUNs and a point in time copy of the volume.

FIG. 5 illustrates a high-level flow chart of functional operationsrelated to the creation of a point-in-time copy that may be transportedaccording to aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a more-detailed flow chart of functional operationsrelated to the actual creation of a point-in-time copy of a set ofvolumes in accordance with a particular embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a high-level flow chart of operationalcharacteristics of the present invention with respect to transportingdata content from one system to another.

FIG. 8 illustrates a more-detailed flow chart of operationalcharacteristics of a particular embodiment of the present invention withrespect to transporting data content from one system to another.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart of operational characteristics of theact of matching discovered LUNs with point-in-time copy set LUNs, wherethe matching act is shown and described in conjunction with FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow chart of operational characteristics of thepresent invention with respect to deleting a point-in-time copy of avolume, the volume being part of a point-in-time copy set.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A distributed environment 100 incorporating aspects of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 1. The environment 100 has at least one hostcomputer system 102 and potentially other host computer systems such as104. The environment 100 may further include an archival backup system106 for backing up data from either the host computer system 102 or 104,as described below. Additionally, the environment may include a memoryor storage subsystem, such as RAID (Redundant Array of IndependentDisks) system 108. The host computer systems such as 102 and 104,communicate with the memory system 108 and each other over a networkconfiguration such as SAN 110. SAN 110 may be a system area network,such as FiberChannel, InfiniBand, among others, that providescommunication capabilities to the various components, such as hostsystems 102 and 104. Additionally, the SAN may provide communicationsupport with the memory system 108 through a hardware interface 112shown in FIG. 1. In other embodiments, environment 100 may furtherinclude many other components, such as other host computer systems,other memory subsystems, an I/O controller to provide an interfaceconnection to other networks, such as the Internet, among others.

As stated, the memory system 108 stores information for use by one ofthe host computer systems 102 and 104. The memory system 108 may be anyof a number of different types of memory systems. The hardware interface112 is typically part of the memory system 108 but may be separate. Thehardware interface 112 typically includes the controls for creating andmaintaining a point-in-time copy of a logical unit of memory, i.e., aLUN, such as LUNs 114. Additionally, the hardware interface typicallycommunicates with the host computer systems 102 and 104 over network 110and is able to provide mapping information for stored data on thevarious LUNs. Importantly, the subsystem 108 provides the capability tocreate a point-in-time copy of information at the LUN level, i.e., thesystem can create a point-in-time copy of a LUN. The subsystem 108 mayuse mirror technology to create and/or maintain a point-in time copy orthe system 108 may work in conjunction with the hardware interface 112and/or the host computer systems 102 and 104 to create the point-in-timecopy upon request using other technology.

In an embodiment, at least one of the host computers 102 or 104communicates with the hardware interface 112 and provides the ability tocombine portions or extents of separate LUNs into volumes. Additionally,the computer system 102 may map more than one complete volume to asingle LUN. Therefore, applications running on the host computer systemsmay operate based on volumes of information, which may be larger orsmaller than the particular LUN for the given memory system 108.

In essence, one of the host computer systems, such as system 102requests the creation and/or transportation of one or more volumes ofinformation. Once requested, another process within the same computersystem, or potentially a process within another host computer system,determines which LUNs need to be copied and which portions of those LUNsneed to be transported or surfaced on the receiving system, such assystem 104. Using this information, the memory system 108 is instructedas to which LUN(s) to copy. Upon receiving the copies of the LUN(s), thenecessary portions of the various LUN(s) are combined withreconstruction mapping information as well as any other information thatthe receiving system requires in order to use the copy of the volume.Once surfaced on the second computer system 104, system 104 can use thepoint-in-time copy to perform backups, query resolution or substantiallyany other function that requires a copy of a volume of information:

As an example, an application operating on a first host computer system102 may request the transfer of its data to another system 104 to bebacked up onto archival media 106. Upon receiving the request, thesystem 108 creates a point-in-time copy of two LUNs. The volume ofinformation actually required in this example however, only needsportions of each of the two LUNs. The system 108, only operating at theLUN level, provides copies of both LUNs to the requesting system. Therequesting system packages the two LUNs for transport by creating aself-contained description of the application data including where thatdata resides, how that data is to be restored, and the description ofwhat physical resources need to be brought on line to get to theapplication data.

The receiving system 104 receives the self-contained description and isable to reconstruct all the elements of the volume including the mappingfrom the original volume to the copied volume even after the copiedvolume is transported to another machine. Additionally, only thosevolume(s) that were requested for transport are surfaced on thereceiving machine. For example, suppose several volumes are created on asingle LUN and only one of them is requested for copy and transport.Since the entire LUN is copied, the portions that are not part of thevolume are marked as hidden such that when the point-in-time copy isimported on the receiving system 104, only the requested volume issurfaced. The other volumes, although they appear on the LUN, remainhidden.

A computer system 200 that may represent one of the host computersystems, such as 102 shown in FIG. 1, which communicates with other hostcomputer systems, such as system 104 through the network fabric 110 inaccordance with the present invention, is shown in FIG. 2. In its mostbasic configuration, computing system 200 is illustrated in FIG. 2 bydashed line 206. The system 200 has at least one processor 202 and asystem memory 204. In other embodiments, the system may have more thanone processor.

In addition to the components illustrated as 206, the system 200 mayalso include additional storage (removable and/or non-removable)including, but not limited to, magnetic or optical disks or tape. Suchadditional storage is illustrated in FIG. 2 by removable storage 208 andnon-removable storage 210. Computer storage media includes volatile andnonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology for storage of information such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Memory204, removable storage 208 and non-removable storage 210 are allexamples of computer storage media. Computer storage media includes, butis not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other opticalstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used tostore the desired information and which can be accessed by system 200.Any such computer storage media may be part of system 200. Depending onthe configuration and type of computing device, memory 204 may bevolatile, non-volatile or some combination of the two.

System 200 may also contain communications connection(s) 212 that allowthe device to communicate with other devices, such as other the otherhost computer system 104, or the RAID System 110 shown in FIG. 1.Additionally, system 200 may have input device(s) 214 such as keyboard,mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc. Outputdevice(s) 216 such as a display, speakers, printer, etc. may also beincluded. All these devices are well known in the art and need not bediscussed at length here.

Computer system 200 typically includes at least some form of computerreadable media. Computer readable media can be any available media thatcan be accessed by system 200. By way of example, and not limitation,computer readable media may comprise computer storage media andcommunication media. Computer storage media, as described above,includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information suchas computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data. Communication media typically embodies computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules or other data in amodulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term“modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communicationmedia includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be includedwithin the scope of computer readable media.

FIG. 3 illustrates a software/hardware environment 300 incorporatingaspects of the present invention. The environment 300 includes separatemodules that perform functional operations in accordance with thoseaspects. The modules may be operate solely within one computer system,such as system 200 shown in FIG. 2 or the modules operates in adistributed manner across more than one computer system. The environment300 includes a requestor module 302 that requests that a point-in-timecopy of a volume, e.g., volume 303, be created.

In an embodiment, the requestor module 302 relates to a computerapplication or process that requests that one or more point-in-timecopies to be made of one or more original volumes. In one particularembodiment, the requestor 302 is a backup application program that isused to store a copy of original volumes onto another disk or medium. Asshown in FIG. 3, the requestor module 302 communicates a request to thepoint-in-time copy interface 304. The request may include one volume tocopy or the request may include multiple volumes. In one embodiment, therequestor 302 also requests that the copy be made available fortransport across the network, yet in other embodiments, the network mayautomatically prepare the copy for transport.

Although described as single request, in a particular embodiment, therequestor module 302 may make a first request to establish a set ofvolumes to be copied. In return the point-in-time copy interface 304 mayreturn a unique identifier, such as a GUID (global unique identifier).The requestor module 302 may then send multiple messages indicatingwhich volumes should be added to the set identified by the GUID.Following the addition of volumes to the set, the requester module 302initiates the copy process. Typically, the set is fixed at theinvocation of copy process, such that new volumes cannot be added later.In a particular embodiment, only 64 volumes may be included in thepoint-in-time copy set. However, in other embodiments, there are nolimits on the number of volumes that may be included in a particular setor the number of copies of an original volume that may be requested.

Additionally, the requestor application 302 may include one or morewriter modules, such as writer modules 316. In such an embodiment, thewriter module actually interacts with the point-in-time copy interface304 in order to create a snapshot. The writer is responsible forquiecing writes to a data store used by the requestor 302 for the periodof time that the point-in-time copy is actually materialized. Inaddition, the writer interacts with other requestor modules (not shown)to describe what is to be copied, e.g., backed up, as well as annotate abackup components document to facilitate the restoration of data that iscopied. Exemplary writer modules may include a SQL Server Writer. Withrespect to the SQL Server Writer module, it will cause the storagesystem to quiesce writes for the period between “freeze” and “thaw”,i.e., the time periods before a point-in-time copy is created and afterthe point-in-time copy is created, respectively.

The request made by requestor 302 is conducted to point-in-time copyinterface module 304. In an embodiment, the interface module 304 is on ahost computer system, such as system 102 or 104 or distributedthroughout the system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The point-in-time copyinterface module 304 receives the request, parses the request and theninstructs a provider 306 to create a point-in time copy. The interfacemodule, in an embodiment, provides a layer of abstraction between theprovider 306 and requestor 302 such that the provider 306 is notrequired to understand volumes or other concepts used by the requestor302. In essence, the point-in-time copy interface intercepts requestsfrom the requester and instructs the provider accordingly.

The point-in-time copy interface layer 304 also constructs a backupmetadata document based on information provided by the requestor (andpotentially by the writer). As part of the document, the layer 304includes a point-in-time copy description based on the original set ofvolumes and information received from a provider 306 as to the set ofLUN copies created for each point-in-time volume copy.

The provider 306 receives instructions from the point-in-time copyinterface 304 to create a point-in-time copy. Upon receipt, the provider306 communicates with a storage subsystem 308 to actually create apoint-in-time copy of at least one LUN. In essence, the storagesubsystem 308 may have several physical disks that may be logicallydivided into separate units, each having a unique number, such as LUNs310 and 312. The provider causes the system 308 to create at least onecopy of one or more particular LUNs, such as copies 314 and 315. Theprovider 306 may describe the mapping between the set of LUNs for eachoriginal volume in a point-in-time copy set as well as the copies of theLUNs created for each point-in-time volume copy. Additionally, theprovider 306 may further assist in surfacing LUN copies when thosecopies are transported to another computer system.

In a particular embodiment, the provider 306 is a hardware providerconsisting of a user-mode component that works in conjunction with ahardware storage adapter or external storage subsystem 308 andintercepts access requests, e.g., I/O requests in hardware. Importantly,the provider 306 controls the subsystem to generate the point-in-timecopy of a LUN. Typically, hardware providers implement the at least twointerfaces, such as “IVssProviderCreateSnapshotSet” and“IVssHardwareSnapshotProvider” interfaces. The first interface is commonto all providers and implements the snapshot state sequencing. Thesecond interface is specific to hardware providers and operates on a LUNabstraction. More details of these and other interfaces that may beimplemented, along with methods that may be used in accordance with oneembodiment, are detailed in the attached Appendix A.

Additionally, providers 306 may be implemented as COM components andcalled out-of-process by the layer 304. Providers 306 useprovider-specific mechanisms to communicate with the host adapter orexternal RAID storage subsystem that instantiates the snapshot LUNs. Inusing the providers 306, there may be no need for any extra kernel modecomponents to perform the control of the storage subsystem 308.

Hardware providers 306 may support copy-on-write or plex (full mirrorcopy) copy techniques. Hardware providers 306 support transportablepoint-in-time copies to allow movement between different computersystems on the SAN.

Prior to the actual copy process, the original LUNs may be accessed by anumber of different modules, such as writers 316, which can read andwrite information from and to the different LUNs. Writers 316 correspondto other processing modules that may be connected to the network, apartfrom the requestor 302. In one embodiment, during the actual copyprocess the original LUNs 310 and 312 cannot be accessed by the writers316. In other embodiments however, the original volumes are alwaysvisible to the system and can be written to, yet most writers quiescewrites during the freeze and thaw periods to ensure consistency,although this is not required. The process of synchronizing various readand write access requests is discussed in more detail in the U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/912,615, filed Jul. 24, 2001, entitled SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR BACKING UP AND RESTORING DATA [docket numberMS154762.1/40062.0093-US-01], incorporated herein by reference for allthat it discloses and teaches, filed concurrently herewith, and assignedto the Assignee of the present application.

Once the copy of the required LUN or LUNs is made, information isprovided to the point-in-time copy interface module 304 indicating thatthe copy has been made as well as other information such as the locationor access information for the copies. The module 304 combines thereceived information with mapping and other application data prior totransporting the information to a second computer system. In essence,the module 304 combines LUN information, along with any mappinginformation to create a volume, such as volume 318, which represents acopy of the requested volume 303. The volume 318 is then “surfaced” onan importer module 320.

The importer module 320 relates to computer process or application thatresides, at least in part, on a computer system apart from the computersystem housing the requestor module 302. Thus, the information has beeneffectively transported from one machine housing the requester 302 to adifferent machine, housing the importer module 320. Once imported, theimporter may reconstruct the volume and perform backup or otherfunctions using the imported volume 318. Although the volume isconsidered to be transported, the actual physical information may remainon the storage subsystem 308, such that the “transportation” processmerely involves passing location, access, and ownership information andcapabilities from one computer system to another. Once transported, theimporter module may access and use the information in the transportedvolume to perform required functions, such as backup or query processfunctions.

In one embodiment, the point-in-time copy interface 304 uses separatemodules to perform various tasks. For instance a receive module 322 maybe used to receive the request from the requestor 302. Additionally, thereceive module 322 may perform other functions such as generalcommunication between the interface 304 and the requestor 302 or theimporter module 320 or the various writers 316.

The interface layer 304 may further include an import parse module 324for parsing a request. The act of parsing a request may determinewhether the request is for creating a point-in-time copy, importing apoint-in-time copy, among others. The parse module 324, in an embodimentworks in conjunction with a mapping module 326 to determine and maintaininformation related to volumes and how the volumes are mapped toseparate LUNs located on the storage subsystem. The mapping module 326provides the level of abstraction between a requestor 302 and a provider306 such that the requestor can supply requests with respect to volumeswithout knowledge of how that information is mapped into the LUNs.Similarly, the mapping module 326 allows the provider 306 to send andreceive information based on the LUNs, without knowledge of volumes orhow the volumes are mapped into the LUNs.

The interface layer 326 may further include a control module 328. Thecontrol module, in an embodiment, controls the interaction betweenvarious modules and may further control timing and sequencing of events.For instance, the control module 328 may operate in conjunction with asynchronization module 330 to synchronize memory access requestsoriginating from multiple processes, such as writers 316, requestor 302and importer 320. Synchronizing these requests, and potentially pausingvarious requests, allows the providers 306 to create point-in-timecopies without conflicts or missed updates.

An import module 332 may be incorporated into the point-in-timeinterface 304. The import module 332 packages information received fromthe providers relating to the location of a physical copy on storagesubsystem 308. Using this information, the import module generates aself-contained description of the information to be surfaced on theimporter 320, as well as any other information such as where theinformation resides, what other processes should be activated in orderto access the information, etc. Typically, the import module 332 may belocated on a separate computer system from the requestor module 302,e.g., the requestor module may be located on the host computer system102 (FIG. 1) and the import module 332 may be located on the hostcomputer system 104 (FIG. 1). However, in alternative embodiments, theimport module 332 may be located on the same computer system as therequester module 302, e.g., both modules 302 and 332 may be located onsystem 102 or system 104 (FIG. 1).

Using these modules essentially two primary functions are performed bylayer 304. First, the function of constructing the point-in-time copyand mapping LUN information needed for importing the point-in-time toanother machine is performed. Typically this is done on the host machinewhere the original volumes reside since the mapping is created when theoriginal volumes are snapshotted. Second, the import module 332, takesin this description and interacts with the provider to expose thepoint-in-time copy LUNS that correspond to the volumes on the originalLUNS.

In alternative embodiments, the interface 304 has many other modules,such as a module (not shown) that specifically provides communicationcontrol between the providers 306 and the other modules of the interface304, for example.

As described above, a volume may be wholly located on a single LUN, oron a portion of LUN, or on portions of several LUNs. FIG. 4 illustratesthe concept of spreading an original volume 400 across several LUNs 402,404, and 406. In the example shown in FIG. 4, original volume 400relates to a logical unit of memory as viewed by a host computer system,such as system 102 shown in FIG. 1. The host computer system 102 may ormay not understand the mapping of original volume 400 across the severalLUNs. In many cases, the host computer system understands LUNs andvolumes but the applications running on the host computer systemtypically do not understand or operate in terms of LUNs. Instead theapplications operate on files in a file system that is implemented ontop of a volume (which may be composed of portions of one or more LUNS),i.e., a portion of continuous memory space known as volume 400. Theinterface layer 304 (FIGS. 1 and 3 respectively) provides mappingfunctions to spread the volume across the various LUNs.

FIG. 4 also illustrates a point-in-time copy of LUNs 402, 404 and 406,that is, copies 408, 410 and 412. The copies 408, 410, and 412 areactual physical copies of the various LUNs on the subsystem 308. In anembodiment, there is a copy of each LUN on the subsystem, but in otherembodiments, only a predetermined number or set of LUNs are copied at atime. Maintaining mapping information from the original LUN and how itrelates to the various LUNs 402, 404, and 406 provides the ability toreconstruct or generate a copy of original volume 400, i.e., copy 414.The copy of the original volume 414 is effectively surfaced on a secondcomputer system, such as system 104 shown in FIG. 1.

The LUNs, such as LUN 1 402, LUN 2 404 and LUN N 406 exemplify thenumerous LUNs present on a storage subsystem. Each LUN comprisesmultiple portions or extents, such as portions 416, 418 and 420. Ofcourse, there may be many other portions included in a particular LUN.When copies of the LUNs 402, 404 and 406 are created, all the portionsof the LUN are copied into the point-in-time copy. Sometimes, portionsof a LUN are copied but are not necessarily part of the original volume400 and are therefore not part of the copy of the original volume 414.

As an example, assume that volume 400 is mapped to the three volumes402, 404 and 406. However, in this example volume 400 does not includeportions 418 on LUN 1 402 or portion 422 on LUN N 406. When apoint-in-time copy is created, all portions of each LUN is copied,including portions 418 and 422, which correspond to portions 424 and 426on copies 408 and 412, respectively. However, prior to creating thepoint-in-time copy, the portions 418 and 422 are marked to indicate thatthese portions should be excluded from the copy of the original volume414. The actual markings on 418 and 422 are represented by marks 427 and429. Following the actual point-in-time copy process, since the processcopies the LUNs relatively exactly, the markings 427 and 429 appear onthe extents 424 and 426 of LUN copies 408 and 412. The actual markingson 424 and 426 are represented by marks 428 and 430. The markings 428and 430 provide the necessary information to indicate that these extents424 and 426 should be hidden or removed from the copy of the originalvolume 414. The types of markings may vary, but the interface layer,such as layer 304 shown in FIG. 3 recognizes the markings so as toexclude the portions.

In an embodiment, the provider 306 in conjunction with the subsystem 308provides the state necessary to support not only the access to volumeson point-in-time copy but also the tagging or marking of a portion of aLUN as read-only and/or hidden. The state is on the hardware LUN andtravels with the LUN. Moreover, the state is preserved across bootepochs and/or device discovery. In a particular embodiment, the layer304 manages the state of these read-only or hidden portions.

FIG. 5 illustrates the functional components related to requesting andcreating a transportable volume or set of volumes. Flow 500 generallyrelates to the process performed by the layer 304 shown in FIG. 3. Flow500 begins as receive operation 502 receives a request for apoint-in-time copy of a volume for transport. As discussed above, arequestor module, such as module 302 shown in FIG. 3, may generate thepoint-in-time copy request and send the request to the layer 304. Therequest may include a single volume or multiple volumes in a set. Therequest may further include an indication that the new point-in-timecopy should be transportable, such as by including a “transportable”attribute. Additionally, the request may comprise a plurality ofcommunications, such as a request to begin adding volumes to a set,adding those volumes to the set, and then submitting the set to becopied.

Once receive operation 502 receives the request to create apoint-in-time copy for a volume or a set of volumes, resolve operation504 resolves mapping of volume information into LUN information. In thecase where multiple volumes are being copied, in an embodiment, theresolve operation 504 may begin resolving volume/LUN mapping informationas it receives each volume, without waiting for the remaining volumes.In alternative embodiments however, resolve operation may wait until allvolumes have been requested.

Resolve operation 504 determines which LUNs are required to be copied.In an embodiment, the resolve operation may communicate with the one ormore providers 306 to determine whether the requested LUNs aresupported, and which provider supports those particular LUNs. Withrespect to hardware providers, the provider is presented with theinformation about the set of LUNs used to construct the volume and thehardware provider returns an indication as to whether the volume issupported or not by indicating whether those LUNs are supported. Thisdetermination should be all or nothing, i.e., if one LUN is notsupported then the volume cannot be copied. Also, in an embodiment, thesame hardware provider must support all LUNs contributing to a specificvolume. In this embodiment, the hardware provider may also augment anyLUN information that may be useful to either the requestor or theinterface layer, such as layer 304. For example, the LUN information maybe augmented with an interconnect address or the like.

Following the resolution of volume and LUN information operation 504,synchronize operation 506 communicates with various other writers, ifthere are any, that a point-in-time copy is going to be created.Synchronize operation may simply instruct other writers to stop writingand wait a predetermined time period to allow existing access requeststo complete before proceeding. In other embodiments, other methods maybe used to effectively communicate with the writers such that thewriters do not attempt to access or modify a volume of information whilea copy is being made. Preventing access during the actual copy processeliminates issues of missed updates or inaccurate point-in-time copyinformation.

Additionally, during the synchronize writers operation 506, anindication may be sent to a provider that a point-in-time is going to berequested. That is, the hardware provider supporting the LUNs of thevolume to be copied is notified that a copy of the volume is to be madeand which LUNs should be copied. However, the notification indicating anupcoming point-in-time copy operation allows the provider time toprepare for the actual point-in-time copy process.

Following synchronize operation 506, mark operation 508 marks, in oneembodiment, all volumes on all LUNs that are being copied as hidden andread only. In alternative embodiments, portions of original LUNs thatare not associated with requested volumes may be uniquely marked. Thehardware provider exposes marking capability relating to read-only orhidden portions of LUNs. Using this capability, mark operation marksunassociated LUNs as hidden. In other embodiments, other methods may beused to identify those portions of LUN copies that are not associatedwith a volume to be transported. In some cases, however, a requestedvolume may be placed entirely on one or more LUNs such that each portionof each LUN copy is associated with a copied volume. In such a case,mark operation 508 may not be necessary. That said, however, the markoperation 508 may be necessary for other reasons. For example, the markoperation 508 may be used to mark the point-in-time volumes as readonly. Additionally, the import algorithm discussed below in conjunctionwith FIG. 8 relies on looking for volumes marked as hidden in order tofind the point-in-time volumes such that mark operation 508 may benecessary when implementing such a search algorithm.

Mark operation 508 occurs prior to the creation of a point-in-time copy,e.g., operation 510 discussed below. The purpose of this requirement isthat most storage subsystems do not allow the marking or modification ofa point-in-time copy once it has been created. Thus, the originalvolumes that are affected are marked as read-only and hidden which willcause all copied volumes that are surfaced on the receiving machine asread-only and hidden. The mark or tag may be implemented using hiddensectors on MBR (Master Boot Record) disks or operating system softwarespecific bits in the partition header entry on GPT (GUID PartitionTable) disks. When marking occurs before the creation of thepoint-in-time copy, then the markings carry over once the copy is made,such that point-in-time copies will include the proper markings.Additionally, an extra step of removing the markings from the originalvolumes may also be required in this case.

Upon completion of mark operation 508, instruct operation 510 instructsthe provider to create the point-in-time copy of the associated LUNs.Essentially, instruct operation 510 relates to the actual creation ofthe point-in-time copy of the LUNs associated with requested volume.Instruct operation 510 may comprise a series of different acts asdiscussed below in conjunction with FIG. 6. Following instruct operation510, the actual point-in-time copies of the associated LUNs exist on thesubsystem, such as system 308 shown in FIG. 3.

Once the instruct or copy operation 510 has completed, obtain and storeoperation 512 obtains information from the hardware provider relating tothe point-in-time copy set, including the copied volumes, LUN mappingsand information as to how the volumes are located on the LUNs. Thehardware provider is sent information relating to the original volumeand requested to construct corresponding information related to thepoint-in-time copy of the LUNs. Upon obtaining the information, operateand store operation 512 stores the information into a backup componentsdocument, such as the sample document shown below in Appendix B. In anembodiment, the document is an XML document containing original LUNinformation, new point-in-time copy LUN information and identificationsfor the disk extents for each volume in the point-in-time copy set. Thebackup components document may then be used at a later time to surfacethe copied volumes on the second machine. In one embodiment, a surfacedor exposed point-in-time copy is accessible in the Microsoft WINDOWS®operating system namespace via drive letter, mount point, volume devicename, and/or network share.

With respect to a particular embodiment, in order to keep track of themapping from the original volume to the point-in-time copy volume, a“SNAPSHOT_SET_DESCRIPTION” XML element appears in the backup componentsdocument and describes all properties of a point-in-time copy set (i.e.,a set of volumes copied at the same point in time). In particular, itcontains information about the physical layout of the original volumesas well as the physical layout of the snapshot volumes. Additionally,the physical layout of the volumes is described in terms of a“LUN_MAPPING” XML element. There is an array of LUN_MAPPING elements foreach volume in the point-in-time copy set. The LUN_MAPPING elementconsists of three components, e.g., a source “LUN_INFORMATION,” target“LUN_INFORMATION,” and a “DISK_EXTENT” array. The source LUN_INFORMATIONdescribes the physical characteristics of the original LUN, thedestination LUN_INFORMATION describes the physical characteristics ofthe destination LUN, and the DISK_EXTENTS describes what contiguousportions of the original LUN are occupied. The LUN_INFORMATION containsenough information to identify the LUN and includes such information asthe product id, serial number, vendor identification, as well asaddressing information used to find the LUN on the SAN.

The SNAPSHOT_SET_DESCRIPTION is built by snapshot service withcooperation from the snapshot provider and is stored in the backupcomponents document. When the requestor (for example the backupapplication) requests that the point-in-time copy be surfaced on anothermachine, the SNAPSHOT_SET_DESCRIPTION is extracted from the backupcomponents document and is used to obtain access to the target LUNS aswell as reconstruct the mapping from the original volumes to thepoint-in-time copy volumes that are surfaced. The mapping is generallynecessary to find where a corresponding file (as specified in the backupcomponents document) on the original volume is to be found on thepoint-in-time copy volume.

In a particular embodiment, the creation of a point-in-time copy relatesto the creation of a point-in-time copy set, which involves copyingmultiple volumes. Thus, a point-in-time copy set relates to more thanone volume of information being copied relatively simultaneously, i.e.,each volume copy of the point-in-time set having the same point-in-timecharacteristic. The layer 304 (FIG. 3) manages the process of creating apoint-in-time copy set, the process shown in FIG. 6.

Initially, flow 600 begins as receive operation 602 receives a requestto add a volume to the set of volumes. As discussed above, the requestormodule, e.g., 302 (FIG. 3) may request that more than one volume beincluded in the point-in-time copy process. In one embodiment, therequestor sends a command to the interface layer 304 indicating that aset of volumes are to be copied. In such a case, the requestor thenreceives multiple requests, each indicating that a new volume is to beadded to the set, and which volume to add to the set. Operations 602through 612, described below, relate to the acts involved withestablishing the set of volumes to be included in the point-in-timecopy.

Upon receiving a request to add a new volume to the set of volumes 602,determine operation 604 determines the set of LUNs that are used tocompose that new volume. The information may be gleaned from informationdescribing the volume or referenced elsewhere in the system. In anembodiment, the LUNs are determined by calling a module, such asIOCTL_VOLUME_GET_DISK_EXTENTS, which invokes the volume manager todescribe which drives are used and which ranges of bytes on each driveare used. There is a one-to-one mapping between physical drives (as seenby the operating system) and LUNs (exposed by the storage subsystem).

Next, the first hardware provider is identified at identify operation606. Using the LUN identification information determined at operation604, the first hardware provider is asked whether that hardware providersupports those LUNs at ask operation 608. i.e., operation 608 determineswhether the identified provider supports the LUNs for the new volumebeing added to the set of volumes. In an embodiment, the provider iscalled using “AreLunsSupported” wherein the call includes the set ofLUNs. The provider returns an indication as to whether it can create apoint-in-time copy for all the LUNs identified in the call.

If the provider can create a point-in-time copy of all the LUNsidentified in the call, then the provider will return an indication tothat effect. In such a case, flow 600 branches YES to instruct operation610. Instruct operation 610 instructs the provider to begin preparationsfor those LUNs to be involved in a point-in-time copy process. In oneembodiment, instruct operation 610 calls the provider with“BeginPrepareSnapshot”, wherein the set of LUNs is also provided in thecall. It is contemplated that at this point, the hardware providershould begin the process of creating the snapshot or point-in-time copy.In particular, the provider may respond to the call by allocatingresources for the point-in-time copy and by doing any work that can bedone in advance of point-in-time copy creation. Typically, for aprovider that supports mirrors, the provider should create a mirror andbegin syncing the mirror, especially if a mirror does not already existfor each LUN.

Although it is contemplated that the hardware provider may begin doingwork to prepare for the point-in-time, in alternative embodiments, theinstruct operation 610 may simply provide an indication that at somepoint a point-in-time copy process will be conducted and the providerwill be involved. Depending on the hardware provider, such an indicationmay or may not be used to perform any number of activities in order toadequately prepare for the point-in-time copy process.

However, if the provider cannot create a point-in-time copy of all theLUNs in the call, then flow 600 branches NO back to identify operation606 which identifies the next hardware provider. If the next providercan create a point-in-time copy of all the LUNs in the call then flowwill branch YES to instruct operation 610. However, as above, if thenext provider cannot support the LUNs, then flow 600 will branch againback to identify operation 606. In essence, each of the variousproviders may be called in order to determine which one supports theLUNs associated with the new volume. If no provider is located that cancreate a snapshot for all the LUNs in a particular volume then thatvolume is not added to the set. Essentially, if no hardware provider,such as providers 306 (FIG. 3) is found, then a software snapshotprovider is used instead. However, since software providers will notsupport transportable snapshots, the outcome is the same, i.e., if nohardware provider is found, then the point-in-time copy will not be ableto be made on that volume. Additionally, the requestor is notified ofthat the volume has not been added to the set.

In one embodiment, a singular provider must support all LUNs in the callin order for the volume to be added to the set. In alternativeembodiments however, volumes may be split across different providers.However, it should be noted that such an embodiment requires additionalprocessing to handle the situation where one provider succeeds at onestep in the process but another provider fails. The interface layer 304may communicate with the various providers to handle such a situation.

Following instruct operation 610, determine operation 612 determineswhether there is another volume to evaluate. In essence, operations 604to 610 repeat for each volume that is to be added to the set. Whenanother volume is to be added to the set, flow branches NO back toreceive operation 602. However, when there are no more volumes to beadded to the set, then flow branches YES to receive operation 614. Therequester, such as requestor 302 (FIG. 3) may control whether there aremore volumes to be added to the set. Hence, when no more volumes are tobe added to the set, the requestor may send a “close volume set” commandor might send a request to create the point-in-time copy. Alternativeembodiments may include other means by which to indicate that no morevolumes are to be added to the set.

Once all the volumes have been added to the snapshot set, then receiveoperation 614 receives a request to create the point-in-time copy set.In an embodiment, the requestor indicates that the point-in-time copyset should be created.

In order to create the point-in-time copy set, each providerparticipating in the point-in-time copy set is called with a command toend preparations at call operation 616, such as with an“EndPrepareSnapshots” command. In an embodiment, this command tells theprovider that it should be ready to create snapshots for each LUN thatit had previously received in a BeginPrepareSnapshot call at a momentsnotice. If the provider is syncing mirrors, then the mirrors must becompletely synced before this call returns.

Following call operation 616, mark operation 618 marks each originalvolume in the set as hidden and read-only. Similarly, if multiplevolumes are on the LUN, then mark operation 620 marks all other volumesas hidden and read only. It is important that the marking process occursprior to the creation of the actual point-in-time copy since typically,once the point-in-time copy is created, the point-in-time copy LUNs arenot visible to the system and cannot be modified.

The purpose of steps 618 and 620 relates to the ultimate goal of havingthe point-in-time copy volumes marked as hidden and read-only. In orderto achieve this goal, the process takes advantage of the fact that thepoint-in-time copy volumes are relatively exact copies of the originalvolumes at the time that the point-in-time copy is created, includingthe hidden and read only bits. Thus setting the hidden and read-onlybits on the original volumes propagated such a status to thepoint-in-time copy volumes. In an embodiment, the marking is done usinga mechanism called “RevertOnClose.” Using the RevertOnClose mechanismindicates that when the interface layer 304 (FIG. 3) is done with theoriginal volumes, their markings revert to their original state, e.g.,visible and not read-only. In addition, if a crash were to occur, thevolumes would automatically revert to their original state prior tobeing marked as hidden and read only. Typically however, the reversionoccurs after the point-in-time copy is created so that the originalvolumes revert to their original state, but the point-in-time copyvolumes do not, i.e., they remain hidden and read-only.

Following the marking operations 618 and 620, instruct operation 622instructs the writers, e.g., writers 316 (FIG. 3) to prepare for thepoint-in-time copy process. In one embodiment the writers are calledwith PrepareForSnapshot. Next the instruct operation 624 instructs thewriters, e.g., using a “Freeze” command, to stop writing to any volumeson which they have data. Instruct operations 622 and 624 provide thewriters with the time to finish writes that have been started and tocache any new writes that are to occur. The communication between thewriters and the interface layer 304 (FIG. 3) in this manner results infewer lost updates and other conflicts.

Once all writes are frozen, instruct operation 626 instructs theproviders to pre-commit to the upcoming point-in-time copy process.Pre-commit operation 626 essentially relates to a communication betweenthe interface layer 304 and the provider to determine whether theprovider is prepared to make the point-in-time copy. In an embodiment,the pre-commit phase may be more complicated. That is, the pre-commitphase, as well as the post-commit phase described below, bracket thecreation of the point-in-time copy process, which is typically a veryshort time frame, e.g., 30 seconds. Bracketing the point-in-time copyprocess allows the provider time to do any special short term processingeither prior to the creation of the point-in-time copy during thepre-commit phase and/or following the creation of the point-in-time copyfor post-commit phase. For example, suppose that a provider needs tolock or prevent certain operations, e.g., creation and deletion of LUNsduring the short time period that the point-in-time copy is beingcreated. Using the pre-commit and post commit operations, thesepreparations can be made. Furthermore, the actual time needed forpre-commit and post-commit is often shorter than other preparation timewindows, e.g., freezing writes.

Next, suspend operation 628 flushes and suspends all writes to allvolumes participating in the point-in-time copy set. In an embodiment, apoint in time may be chosen after which no further writes will reacheach volume until the point-in-time copy is either created or aborted.

Following suspend operation 628, instruct operation 630 instructs theproviders to actually make or instantiate the point-in-time copy. Thisinstruction may also be referred to as a “commit” operation and mayinvolve the providers being called with a command “CommitSnapshots.”Instantiating the point-in-time copy may be done in many ways, such asby breaking the plex in a mirror configuration. At this point in timeeach participating provider must make sure that each point-in-time copyLUN is a relatively exact copy of the original LUN and that no furtherchanges to the original LUN are reflected in the point-in-time copy LUN.

Once the point-in-time copy has been created, allow operation 632 allowswrites to proceed. In essence, the original volumes may now be modifiedwith the pending writes that were earlier suspended. Since the providerdoes not allow the modifications to pass through to the point-in-timecopy, the system may allow the writes to proceed without concern for thepoint-in-time copy.

Additionally, a post-commit operation 634 may effectively call theproviders with a PostCommitSnapshots command. The post-commit commandindicates that the point-in-time copy process has been completed. Asdiscussed above with respect to the pre-commit phase, post-commitoperation 634 may be more complex and may actually provide time for theproviders the time necessary to recover or revert back to the functionallevel existing prior to the pre-commit phase 626.

Next, thaw operation 636 provides a thaw indication to the writers, suchas writers 316 (FIG. 3). The thaw command provides the writers with anindication that new writes may be send to the original volumes.

Following operation 636, which involves the original LUNs, get operation638 gets information related to the point-in-time copy LUNs. Morespecifically, each provider may be called with a command“GetTargetLUNs”, wherein the command includes an identification of theoriginal LUNs. In response to this command, the providers return enoughinformation about the point-in-time LUN corresponding to the originalLUN so that the point-in-time LUN can be imported onto another system inthe SAN and so that the point-in-time LUN can be uniquely identifiedafter it has been imported. In an embodiment, the provider must returnenough information in the VDS_LUN_INFORMATION such as serial number,world wide name of the LUN or port, port address on the storage box, andvendor specific information that can be used to uniquely identify theLUN.

Following get operation 638, store operation 640 stores the informationabout the point-in-time copy, including the mapping from original totarget LUNs in the backup components document. The point-in-time copycreation procedure for the provider is complete at this point. If afailure occurs prior to store operation 640, the provider receives anindication to stop the process, e.g., an AbortSnapshots call, allowingthe provider to free up resources that have been allocated for thepoint-in-time copy.

FIG. 7 illustrates the relatively high-level functional componentsrelated to importing a point-in-time copy onto another computer system,such as system 104 (FIG. 1). Flow 700 generally relates to the processperformed by the point-in-time copy interface layer 304 shown in FIG. 3in response to a request to import a specific volume. The request may bemade by the import module 320 or by another module indicating that avolume copy should be transported to another system.

Flow 700 begins as retrieve operation 702 retrieves the point-in-timecopy information from the backup components document. An exemplarybackup components XML document is attached as Appendix B. The backupcomponents document provides information to reconstruct the volume onthe second machine. In an embodiment, retrieve operation 702 uses theinformation in the document to construct an array of point-in-time copyLUN information.

Once the array of LUN information is constructed, pass operation 704passes the information to the hardware provider responsible for thepoint-in-time copy volume. The provider information may also be includedin the backup components document. In essence, the provider is called tomake the LUNs available at operation 704.

Following the passing of LUN information to the provider, make operation706 makes the LUNs visible, i.e., available. Typically, make operation706 is performed by the provider. Making the LUNs available may involveunmasking the LUN at the storage subsystem and, if possible, filteraccesses to the machine. Alternatively, the provider may work inconjunction with the interface layer 304 (FIG. 3) to rezone the switchesat the network level.

Once the LUNs are available, detect operation 708 scans the subsystemfor new and available LUNs, i.e., the point-in-time copies of the LUNs.As new LUNs are discovered, information from the backup componentsdocument may be used to determine which LUNs are associated with whichoriginal volumes, in the case where multiple volumes have been copied.Additionally, this information may be used to determine which portionsor extents of each new LUN map to which original volume.

Upon discovering all new LUNs, surface operation 710 surfaces the newinformation on the second machine. In an embodiment, surface operation710 captures the mapping information between original volumes and thepoint-in-time copy volumes so that mapping information can later beexposed to applications wanting access to the point-in-time copy. Oncethe surface operation 710 has captured the mapping information, one ormore host computer systems, can be located and mounted as described inmore detail with respect to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 illustrates a more detailed functional component flow chartrelated to importing a point-in-time copy onto another computer system,such as system 104 (FIG. 1). Flow 800 is similar to flow 700 in that thea point-in-time copy exists prior to beginning the flow and that theprocess is generally performed by the point-in-time copy interface layer304 shown in FIG. 3 in response to a request to import a specificvolume. Flow 800, however, relates to importing a volume when the volumewas originally part of a point-in-time copy set having more than onepoint-in-time copy volume as well as other details described below.

Prior to the beginning of flow 800, the importer needs the backupcomponents document that was returned when the point-in-time copy setwas created in order to import the point-in-time copy set onto a secondmachine. The backup components document is, in one embodiment, an XMLdocument so it can be transported as a simple text file betweenmachines. The XML document is given to the interface layer 304, whichuses the document to extract the information needed to import thepoint-in-time copy set.

Flow 800 begins with determine operation 802, which determines the setof point-in-time copy LUNs. That is, the set of point-in-time LUNs isdetermined using the backup components document.

Next, the LUN information for these point-in-time copy LUNs isconstructed and the hardware provider that created the point-in-timecopy is called, at call operation 804, with the set of point-in-timecopy LUNs that were created by that provider. In an embodiment, the callrelates to a “LocateLuns” call and in response to this call, theprovider must make all the point-in-time copy LUNs visible to themachine where the point-in-time copy set is being imported.

In a particular embodiment, the process of making the LUN visible isdone during place operation 806, which places the LUNs in the same zoneas the importer and also unmasks those LUNs at the storage subsystem sothat they are visible to the importer system. However, in otherembodiments, other methods may be used to make the LUNs visible on thenew machine. Also, it should be understood that a single provider mayonly be able to make a subset of the entire LUN set visible. In thiscase, only those point-in-time copy volumes that are fully contained onthe LUNs that are made visible to the importing machine will beimported.

Following place operation 806, test operation 807 determines whethermore providers need to be called. That is, since a point-in-time copyset may involve multiple volumes created by multiple providers, each ofthe participating providers need to be called with their respective setsof LUN information. Consequently, steps 804, 806 and 807 are repeateduntil all participating providers have been called.

Next, detect operation 808 detects any new LUNs. This operation issimilar to operation 708 described above in conjunction with FIG. 7. Ina particular embodiment however, the detect operation involvesperforming a SCSI rescan in order to determine which new LUNs have beenmade visible within a zone.

Upon detecting a new LUN, the new LUN is matched, at match operation 810against information identifying point-in-time copy LUNs. In a particularembodiment the process for matching a new LUN with a point-in-time copyLUN is shown and described with respect to FIG. 9, discussed below. Inessence, each new LUN that has been discovered is matched withidentifying information from the backup components documents such thatthe interface layer not only has access to the LUN but also can map thenew LUN to an original LUN.

Following match operation 810, the coordinator, or interface layer,determines at determine operation 812, which point-in-time copy volumesshould be imported based on the set of LUNs found during the detect andmatch operations 808 and 810, respectively. That is, assuming all theLUNs for a particular volume are found and matched correctly, then thatvolume may be imported. If, however, all LUNs for a particular volumeare not found, then that volume cannot be imported.

Next, check operation 813 checks to see whether there are more LUNs thatneed to be located. Check operation 813 essentially determines whetherother LUNs identified in the Backup Components Document need to bediscovered but have yet to be discovered. For each iteration through theloop one or more new LUNs may be discovered. As discussed below withrespect to FIG. 9, another loop may be used to cycle through and matchthe various LUNs discovered for each iteration through process steps804, 806 and 807. Typically, all the LUNs are detected on the firstiteration of the loop 804, 806 and 807 but, unfortunately limitations ofthe SCSI rescan operation, e.g., the fact that it is particularlyasynchronous, multiple detection operations 804 may be required.

If more LUNs need to be discovered then flow branches NO to detectoperation 808. Otherwise flow branches YES to import operation 814.Alternatively, a timer may be implemented to stop the detection processassociated with operation 808, 810 and 812 such that following apredetermined time, flow branches to import operation 814 even if someidentified LUNs have not been discovered.

For each volume that is to be imported, as determined by determineoperation 812, import operation 814 imports the new volume onto the newmachine. In operation the import module causes the “volume manager” forthat volume to import those volumes onto the machine. The volume manageractually surfaces the volume. That is, in many cases, such as in thecase of dynamic volumes which may have multiple LUNs, the volumes arenot automatically surfaced when detected by a machine. Instead, thevolume either has to have been created on that machine in the firstplace, or has to be imported onto that machine using a volume manager,which imports the volume. Upon importing volumes to the new machine, theset of volumes on the machine include the point-in-time copy volumesplus potentially other volumes that have were located on the LUNs thatcontained the point-in-time copy volumes, but were not necessarilyincluded in the point-in-time copy set. It should be understood however,that at this point all the point-in-time copy volumes and the othervolumes on the point-in-time LUNs are marked as hidden.

Since there may be volumes in the imported data that is not wanted, thenext step is to determine which volumes should be unhidden, as opposedto those that should be left hidden. In order to do so, the first stepinvolves identify operation 816, which identifies the first hiddenvolume. Identify operation 816 uses the capable of the system to listthe set of hidden volumes on the system. Thus, the first hidden volumemay be identified.

Once identified, determine operation 818 determines the LUNs andportions of those LUNs that the identified volume appears. Thisinformation may be gleaned from the volume information itself. That is,using the volume information, appropriate system calls may be made todetermine which LUNs the volume appears on and which portions of thoseLUNs are used by the volume.

Using the LUN and portion information related to the volume, compareoperation 820 compares the hidden volume information with the backupcomponents document to determine if the hidden volume is one of thepoint-in-time copy volumes. That is, this information is matched withthe information in the backup components document to determine if thehidden volume matches one of the snapshot volumes.

If compare operation 820 determines that the volume is one of thepoint-in-time copy volumes then flow branches YES to capture operation822 which captures the volume name and associate the volume with theoriginal volume that was used to create the point-in-time copy volume.In addition, operation 822 may further unhide the point-in-time copyvolume.

Following capture operation 822, check operation 824 check to see ifthere are more volumes that need to be captured or evaluated from thehidden volume list. If not, then flow branches YES to end operation 826which ends flow 800. If so however, flow braches NO back to identifynext hidden volume operation 816. Similarly, if compare operation 820determines that the volume is not one of the point-in-time copy volumes,then flow branches to capture operation 822. In essence, operations 816,818, 820 and 824 are repeated until all hidden volumes have beenevaluated.

In a particular embodiment, upon completion of flow 800, the system has,for each volume in the point-in-time copy set, the name of the originalvolume, the machine where the original volume resided when thepoint-in-time copy was created, and the name of the snapshot volume.Additionally, upon completion of flow 800, each point-in-time copyvolume is marked as visible and read only. Moreover, any other volumesthat were brought along with the point-in-time copy volumes because theyresided on the point-in-time copy LUNs remain marked as hidden.

With this information the requestor can determine how to map from theoriginal volumes in the point-in-time copy set to the point-in-time copyvolumes in the point-in-time copy set. For example, suppose that therequestor is a backup application and it was backing up the contents ofdrive c:\ on the original machine and the point-in-time copy volumematerialized as \\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolume55 on the machinewhere the import is done. The backup can substitute\\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\Harddisk55\ for c:\ for each file being backed upto extract the corresponding file from the point-in-time copy volume.“GLOBALROOT ” is an all caps symbolic link but a case insensitive openwould succeed with a lower or mixed case “GlobalRoot.”

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart of operational characteristics of theact of matching discovered LUNs with point-in-time copy set LUNs, wherethe matching act is shown and described in conjunction with FIG. 8.Initially, determine operation 902 determines initial LUN informationusing SCSI inquiry commands. Then, for each provider participating inthe point-in-time copy set, send operation 904 sends the LUN informationdetermined at operation 902. Send operation may further call eachprovider using the “FillInLunInfo” command to determine which provideris responsible for the LUN and to receive other information about theLUN, e.g., information that is not available through the basic SCSIinquiry commands.

Following send operation 904, receive operation receives the additionalinformation about the LUN from one of the providers. That is, once aprovider indicates creatorship of the LUN, it fills in theVDS_LUN_INFORMATION and sends it back. Upon receiving the information,each point-in-time copy LUN (as determined by GetTargetLuns when thepoint-in-time copy was created) is matched, at match operation 908,against the LUN information for the newly arrived LUN. If the LUNinformation matches, then it is known that the LUN is an appropriatetarget LUN.

Next, check operation 910 checks to see if there are other new LUNs thathave been discovered that need to be evaluated, i.e., whether this isthe last LUN. If so, then flow branches YES to end operation 912.Otherwise flow branches NO back to operation 902 to restart the processof evaluating another LUN against the GetTargetLun list.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow chart of operational characteristics of theprocess of deleting LUNs in a point-in-time copy set of LUNs.Essentially, in order to improve performance of a system, it becomesimportant to recover resources, such as LUNs allocated by the storagesystem for point-in-time copy sets, when those point-in-time copies areno longer needed. The process of deleting a point-in-time copy a singlevolume involves the process shown in FIG. 10. All LUNs discussed withrespect to FIG. 10 are point-in-time copy LUNs.

Initially, evaluate operation 1002 evaluates the set of point-in-timecopy volumes to determine which volumes will remain in the set followingthe deletion of the one predetermined volume. In this case thepoint-in-time copy set includes more than one volume and evaluation step1002 is used to identify the remaining or other volumes in the set.

Upon identifying the remaining volumes, determine operation 1004determines or compiles a list of LUNs used by the point-in-time copyvolume that is about to be deleted. These LUNs may be determined fromthe volume mapping information or other appropriate system calls.

Next, evaluate operation 1006 identifies the first LUN in the list ofLUNs used by the point-in-time copy volume that is about to be deleted.Operation 1006 essentially starts a loop that evaluates each LUN in thelist to determine whether the LUN can be deleted because nopoint-in-time copy volume resides on the LUN once the currentpoint-in-time copy volume is deleted. Upon identifying the first or nextLUN in the list, determine operation 1008 determines if the first ornext LUN is being used by any of the point-in-time copy volumes thatwill remain following the deletion of the volume as determined above inoperation 1002.

If the first or next LUN is not being used by another point-in-time copyvolume in the set, then the LUN may be deleted. Free operation 1010frees or deletes the LUN. In order to free the LUN, a call to thehardware provider may be made, such as with a “OnLunFree” call thatspecifies the LUN to be freed. Note that when all the point-in-time copyvolumes in a point-in-time copy set are deleted, then all the LUNs usedby that point-in-time copy set are also freed.

Following free operation 1010, test operation 1012 tests the LUN againstthe list of LUNs to be evaluated to determine if the LUN is the last LUNin the list. If not, then flow branches back to evaluate operation 1006where the next LUN in the list is identified and evaluated to see if itcan be deleted as before. If the LUN is the last LUN in the list, thenflow branches YES to send operation 1014.

Send operation 1014 sends, once all LUNs that can be deleted are freed,a notification to the volume managers for those LUNs that those LUNshave been freed. This allows the volume manager to remove or modifystate information about those LUNs. Following send operation 1014, flow900 ends at end operation 1016.

Referring back to operation 1008, if the first or next LUN beingevaluated is being used by another volume in the point-in-time copy set,then flow branches YES to operation 1018. Operation 1018 indicates thatthe LUN is still in use and should not be freed. Operation 1018 mayfurther provide a message back to the system indicating that the LUN maynot be freed, but providing the message may not be necessary in someembodiments. Following operation 1018, flow branches to test operation1012, which as described above tests the LUN against the list of LUNs tobe evaluated to determine if the LUN is the last LUN in the list. Ifnot, then flow branches NO back to evaluate operation 1006 where thenext LUN in the list is identified and evaluated to see if it can bedeleted as before. Otherwise flow branches YES to send operation 1014 asdescribed above.

Using the system and method described above, content can be effectivelytransported from one machine on a SAN to another. Indeed, the abovesystem and method effectively enables a protocol where the point-in-timecopy provider, e.g. provider 306 shown in FIG. 3, is able to createpoint-in-time copies using only the physical components it controls(i.e., LUNs) and not having to understand anything about the volumes,file systems, or applications running on those physical components.Moreover, the above system and method provides the ability to describe aLUN in such a way that it can be transported and discovered on themachine to which it is transported without additional processing. Themethod also allows for combining multiple volumes into a copy set andtransporting the set as a group. Further, the receiving machine does notsee information on LUNs that are not associated with volume it isreceiving.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theinvention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, the inventionresides in the claims hereinafter appended.

Appendix A Hardware Provider Interfaces and Methods Introduction

The Hardware Point-In-Time Copy or Snapshot Provider interfaces areIVssAdmin, IVssProviderNotifications, IVssProviderCreateSnapshotSet, andIVssHardwareSnapshotProvider.

IVssAdmin

The IVssAdmin interface is implemented by VSS, and manages the list ofregistered providers. Methods Name Description QueryProviders Queriesall registered providers. RegisterProvider Registers a new snapshotprovider. UnregisterProvider Unregisters an existing provider.IVssProviderNotificationSnapshot providers can be frequently loaded and unloaded. To detectthis, providers can provide an optional Notification InterfaceIVssProviderNotifications. Implementation is optional; providers onlyneed to implement this interface if it is useful for them to catch theseevents.

The IVssProviderNotifications interface is implemented by the providerand is used by VSS to notify the provider about specific events. Everyprovider must support this interface. This interface must be accessibleusing IVssHardwareSnapshotProvider::QueryInterface. Methods NameDescription OnLoad Called by VSS to notify the provider that it was justloaded. OnUnload Called by VSS to notify the provider that it will beunloaded.IVssProviderCreateSnapshotSetThe IVssProviderCreateSnapshotSet interface contains the methods duringsnapshot creation.

All providers must support this interface; the interface is common tosoftware and hardware providers. Methods Name DescriptionEndPrepareSnapshots Ensure all LUNs in the snapshot set are preparedPreCommitSnapshots Ensure that the provider is ready to quickly committhe prepared LUNs. This happens immediately before the Flush-and-holdwrites, but while applications are in their frozen states.CommitSnapshots Quickly commit all LUNs in this provider. Specialrestrictions exist on what operations the Provider may perform duringthis call. PostCommitSnapshots Called after all the snapshots have beencommitted. This happens immediately after the release-writes to the I/Osubsystem, but while applications are in still in their frozen states.AbortSnapshots Ends the prepared snapshots in this provider. Thisincludes all non-committed snapshots and any pre-committed ones.IVssHardwareSnapshotProvider

Each hardware provider must implement the IVssHardwareSnapshotProviderinterface. The COM class that implements this interface is specified bythe administrator in IVssAdmin::RegisterProvider at registration time.Methods Name Description AreLunsSupported Allows VSS to determine ifthis hardware provider can snapshot the LUNs that contribute to aspecific original volume. The provider also updates the VDS_LUN_INFOstructure. BeginPrepareSnapshot Adds LUNs to the snapshot set.GetTargetLuns Retrieves the hardware identification information for eachnew created LUN LocateLuns Performs any necessary RAID subsystemunmasking and/or zoning to allow a snapshot LUN to be discovered by thismachine. OnLunEmpty Notifies the provider that a LUN that previouslycontained snapshot no longer contains data of interest.IVssAdmin: Registration of Snapshot Providers

A provider registers with VSS via IVssAdmin::RegisterProvider( ):STDMETHODIMP IVssAdmin::RegisterProvider(  IN  VSS_ID ProviderId, IN  CLSID ClassId,  IN  VSS_PWSZ pwszProviderName, IN  VSS_PROVIDER_TYPE eProviderType,  IN  VSS_PWSZ pwszProviderVersion, IN  VSS_ID ProviderVersionId  )IVssAdmin::UnRegisterProvider( ) deregisters the provider and removes itand any snapshots instantiated by the provider from snapshot management.The ProviderId is a GUID that uniquely and persistently identifies theProvider. For example the volsnap.sys provider is defined as:const GUID VSS_SWPRV_ProviderId={0xb5946137, 0x7b9f, 0x4925, {0xaf,0x80, 0x51, 0xab, 0xd6, 0xb, 0x20, 0xd5}};Once defined, the ProviderId should remain the same; this is true evenwhen the software revision is updated. The only reason for changing aprovider GUID is when the provider functionality changes and bothproviders might reasonably be active on the same system.IVssProviderCreateSnapshot: Creating SnapshotsThe IVssProviderCreateSnapshotSet interface contains the methods usedduring snapshot creation. All providers must support this interface; theinterface is common to software and hardware providers.For all methods, a successful return indicates that processing for anyand all LUNs in the snapshot set was successful.IVssProviderCreateSnapshot::EndPrepareSnapshotsThis method will be called once for the complete snapshot set. Afterthis is called, there will be no more BeginPrepareSnapshot calls. Thismethod is intended as a rendezvous where the provider can wait for anysnapshot preparation work to complete.

HRESULT EndPrepareSnapshots ( [in]  VSS_ID    SnapshotSetId, ) ;Parameters SnapshotSetId [in] Snapshot set identifierIVssProviderCreateSnapshot::PreCommitSnapshots

The PreCommitSnapshots method is called prior to snapshot commit. Itshould be used to prepare all snapshots in this SnapshotSet forcommitting by the subsequent CommitSnapshots( ) method. While this iscalled, applications have been frozen (but the I/O subsystem is not yetblocking filesystem I/O) so the provider should attempt to minimize theamount of time spent in this method. HRESULT PreCommitSnapshots(  [in]  VSS_ID      SnapshotSetId, ) ; Parameters   SnapshotSetId   [in]Snapshot set identifier.IVssProviderCreateSnapshot::CommitSnapshotsThe CommitSnapshots method is called at the defined instant at which thesnapshots should be taken. For each prepared LUN in this snapshot set,the provider shall perform whatever work is appropriate in order topersist the point-in-time LUN contents. While this method is called,both applications and the I/O subsystem are quiesced so the providermust attempt to minimize the amount of time spent in this method. As ageneral rule, a provider should spend less than 1 second in this method.

In addition, since the I/O system is quiesced at this time, the providershall take great care not to initiate any I/O that may deadlock thesystem—for example debug/tracing I/O by the method or by any methods ithas invoked (Note that VM-oriented file or paging I/O will not be frozenat this time). HRESULT CommitSnapshots(   [in]  VSS_ID     SnapshotSetId, ) ; Parameters   SnapshotSetId   [in] Snapshot setidentifier.IVssProviderCreateSnapshot::PostCommitSnapshotsThe PostCommitSnapshots method is called after all providers involved inthe snapshot set have succeeded with CommitSnapshots, and VSS hasreleased the ‘Lovelace’ lock on the system I/O. Note that applicationsare still frozen at this time.

This method is an opportunity for the provider to provide additionalcleanup work after the snapshot commit. Note that lSnapshotCount shouldnot be needed by hardware providers but is necessary for softwareproviders. HRESULT PostCommitSnapshots(   [in]  VSS_ID SnapshotSetId,  [in]  LONG lSnapshotCount ) ; Parameters   SnapshotSetId   [in]Snapshot set identifier.   lSnapshotCount   [in] Count of snapshots inthe snapshot set.IVssProviderCreateSnapshot::AbortSnapshots

The AbortSnapshots method aborts prepared snapshots in this provide.This includes all non-committed snapshots and pre-committed ones.HRESULT AbortSnapshots(   [in]  VSS_ID      SnapshotSetId ) ; Parameters  SnapshotSetId   [in] Snapshot set identifier.IVssHardwareSnapshotProvider: Managing LUNs and Volumes

The IVssHardwareSnapshotProvider interface contains the methods used byVSS to map volumes to LUNs, discover LUNs created during the snapshotprocess, and transport LUNs on a SAN. All hardware providers mustsupport this interface.

VDS_LUN_INFO

VDS_LUN_INFO structure contains all hardware properties that can be usedto locate a LUN.

VSS initializes the fields from the SCSI Inquiry Data, plus the InquiryData Vital Product Data Pages 0x80 and 0x83 for all LUNs that contributeto a snapshots set. The provider initializes any interconnect specificaddresses for any such LUNs and/or corrects any omissions.

For all LUNs created by committing a snapshot, the provider initializesall fields. This allows the newly created LUNs to be located by Windowssoftware both on the original machine and/or any other machine in a SAN.typedef struct _VDS_LUN_INFO  {  ULONG m_version;  // The SCSI-2 devicetype  BYTE m_DeviceType;  // The SCSI-2 device type modifier (if any) -this may be zero  BYTE m_DeviceTypeModifier;  // Flag indicating whetherthe device can support multiple  // outstanding commands. The actualsynchronization in this  // case is the responsibility of the portdriver.  BOOL m_bCommandQueueing;  // Contains the bus type (as definedabove) of the device. It  // should be used to interpret the raw deviceproperties at  // the end of this structure (if any) VDS_STORAGE_BUS_TYPE BusType;  // vendor id string. For devices with nosuch ID  // this will be zero  [string] char *m_szVendorId;  // device'sproduct id string. For devices with no such ID  // this will be zero [string] char *m_szProductId;  // zero-terminated ascii stringcontaining the device's  // product revision string. For devices with nosuch string  // this will be zero  [string] char *m_szProductRevision; // zero-terminated ascii string containing the device's  // serialnumber. For devices with no serial number  // this will be zero [string] char *m_szSerialNumber;  // device id descriptor VDS_STORAGE_DEVICE_ID_DESCRIPTOR  m_deviceIdDescriptor;  // number ofinterconnects  ULONG cInterconnects;  // array of interconnects [size_is(cInterconnects)] VDS_INTERCONNECT *rgInterconnects;  }VDS_LUN_INFO; typedef struct _VDS_INTERCONNECT  {  // address type VDS_INTERCONNECT_ADDRESS_TYPE m_addressType;  // port that addressrefers to  ULONG m_cbPort;  // actual address of port [size_is(m_cbPort)] BYTE *m_pbPort;  // size of address  ULONGm_cbAddress;  // address relative to the port  [size_is(m_cbAddress)]BYTE *m_pbAddress;  } VDS_INTERCONNECT;Notes:All disk or LUN identification structures are defined by the VirtualDisk Service (VDS). The Volume Snapshot Service and FabricVirtualization Service use these same definitions.The VDS_STORAGE_DEVICE_ID_DESCRIPTORS directly corresponds to the returnfrom context page 0x83.VDS_INTERCONNECT_ADDRESS_TYPE is an enumeration of recognizedinterconnect addressing schemes and includes, but is not limited to,FCFS, FCPH, FCP3, MAC (iSCSI), and SCSI.IVssHardwareSnapshotProvider::AreLunsSupportedThis method will be called for each snapshot that is added to thesnapshot set. Prior to invoking this method, VSS determines the LUNsthat contribute to the LUN.For a specific volume, each LUN can contribute only once; a specific LUNmay contribute to multiple volumes. VSS does no tracking of LUNs. Thesame LUN will never appear more than once in a single call, but mayreappear on subsequent calls. Consider the case of two snapshot volumes:D: and E:. D: is an extended volume contained on LUNS 1 and 2. E: is asimple volume contained on LUN 2. If both volumes are added to the samesnapshot set, LUN 2 will appear on subsequent calls.Prior to returning success, the provider updates the VDS_LUN_INFOstructure with the LUN interconnect address(es) and any additionalinformation to ensure later recognition of the LUN.

Additionally a rgwszDeviceNames parameter is provided to give the devicename of the LUN allowing the provider to open the device itself ifnecessary. HRESULT AreLunsSupported (   [in] LONG lLunCount,   [in] LONGlContext,   [in, unique, size_is(lLunCount)] VSS_PWSZ *rgwszDevices,  [in, out, size_is(lLunCount)] VDS_LUN_INFO *pLunInformation,   [out]BOOL *pbIsSupported ) ; Parameters   lLunCount   [in] Number of LUNscontributin to this snapshot volume   pLunInformation   [in, out] Arrayof VDS_LUN_INFO for each LUN   contributing to the snapshot volume.

rgwszDevices.

Array of device names one for each lun. Each device names can be used toopen the device using the CreateFile API

IVssHardwareSnapshotProvider::BeginPrepareSnapshot

This method will be called for each snapshot that is added to theSnapshot set. HRESULT BeginPrepareSnapshot(   [in] VSS_ID SnapshotSetId,  [in] VSS_ID SnapshotId,   [in] LONG lLunCount,   [in] LONG lContext,  [in, unique, size_is(lLunCount)] VSS_PWSZ *rgDeviceNames,   [in, out,size_is(lLunCount)] VDS_LUN_INFO *rgLunInformation ) ; Parameters  SnapshotSetId   [in] Snapshot set identifier.   SnapshotId   [in] Nameof the volume the snapshot is to be created on.   lLunCount   [in]Number of LUNs contributing to this snapshot volume

rgLunInformation

[in] Array of VDS_LUN_INFO for each LUN contributing to the snapshotvolume

rgwszDeviceNames.

Array of device names one for each lun. Each device names can be used toopen the device using the CreateFile API

IVssHardwareSnapshotProvider::GetTargetLuns

This method will be called once after PostCommitSnapshots for thecomplete snapshot set. Identifying information for each newly createdLUN is returned to VSS. That information must include not only thedevice attributes (eg serial number), but also any and all networkaddresses.

HRESULT GetTargetLuns(

[in] LONG lLunCount,

[in, unique, size_is(lLunCount)] VSS_PWSZ *rgDeviceNames,

[in, unique, size_is(lLunCount)] VDS_LUN_INFO *rgSourceLuns,

[in, out, size_is(lLunCount)] VDS_LUN_INFO *rgDestinationLuns

);

Parameters

ILunCount

[in] Number of LUNs contributing to this snapshot volume

rgSourceLuns

[in] Array of VDS_LUN_INFO for each LUN contributing to the snapshotvolume snapshot set identifier.

rgDestinationLuns

[out] Array of VDS_LUN_INFO for each new LUN created during snapshotprocessing.

There should be a one-to-one correspondence between each element ofrgSourceLuns and rgDestinationLuns.

rgwszDeviceNames.

Array of device names one for each lun. Each device names can be used toopen the device using the CreateFile API

IVssHardwareSnapshotProvider::OnLunEmpty

This method is called whenever VSS determines that snapshot LUN containsno interesting data. All snapshots have been deleted (which also causesdeletion of the volume). The LUN resources may be reclaimed by theprovider and reused for another purpose.

Note that OnLunEmpty is called on a best effort basis. VSS invokes themethod ONLY when the LUN is guaranteed to be empty. There may be manycases where the LUN is empty but VSS is unable to detect this. Anexample of this case is when a snapshot LUN is moved to a different hostbut not actually transported or imported by VSS. That LUN appears as anyother LUN and volumes can be simply deleted via Disk Management withoutany notification of VSS. HRESULT OnLunEmpty (   [in, unique] VSS_PWSZ*wszDeviceName,   [in, unique] VDS_LUN_INFO *pInformation ); Parameters  pInformation   [in] The VDS_LUN_INFO for an empty LUN

wszDeviceName

The name of the device corresponding to the lun being freed up. Thedevice name can be used to open the device using the CreateFile API.

IVssHardwareSnapshotProvider::LocateLuns

This method will be called once when a snapshot set is transportedbetween machines. The provider is responsible for any unmasking at thehardware and any necessary switch zoning. VDS_LUN_INFO passed to theprovider is exactly that received by VSS at GetTargetLuns.

Immediately after this method completes, VSS will perform any host-basedunmasking and invoke IOCTL_DISK_FIND_NEW_DEVICES. This causes anyexposed LUNs to be discovered by PNP. Note that host-based masking is apost-Whistler feature. HRESULT LocateLuns(   [in] LONG  lLunCount,  [in, unique, size_is(lLunCount)] VDS_LUN_INFO *rgSourceLuns);IVssHardwareSnapshotProvider::FillnLuninfo

This method will be called when information is needed about a particularLun. The provider is responsible for supplying this information. HRESULTFillInLunInfo(   [in] VSSPWSZ wszDeviceName,   [in, out] VDS_LUN_INFO*pLunInfo,   [out] BOOL *pbIsSupported  );  wszDeviceName - name of thedevice being queried. The device name can be used to open the deviceusing the CreateFile API,  pLunInfo - lun information for the device.The hardware provider should fill in any fields in the lun informationto uniquely identify the device in such away that the lun informationmatches the lun information for the device as returned inGetTargetLuns.]  pbIsSupported - whether this provider supports thedevice.  ]

APPENDIX B EXEMPLARY BACKUP COMPONENTS DOCUMENT - <Schemaname=“VssComponentMetadata” xmlns=“urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xml-  data” xmlns:dt=“urn:schemas-microsoft-com:datatypes”>  -<AttributeType name=“filespec” dt:type=“string” required=“yes”>   <description>File specification. Can include wildcard characters ?and     *</description>   </AttributeType>  - <AttributeType name=“path”dt:type=“string” required=“yes”>    <description>Path to a file. Thepath can include environment variables or     values extracted fromregistry keys.</description>   </AttributeType>  - <AttributeTypename=“recursive” dt:type=“enumeration” dt:values=“yes no”    default=“no”>    <description>Is path specified recursive or limitedto the directory that is     specified.</description>   </AttributeType> - <AttributeType name=“alternatePath” dt:type=“string” required=“no”>   <description>Alternate path in which to find the file. Files in afile group     may have been copied to an alternative location by thewriter. Backup     should pick up the files from the alternativelocation instead of the     original location but should restore thefiles to their original     location</description>   </AttributeType>  -<AttributeType name=“logicalPath” dt:type=“string” required=“no”>   <description>Logical path for a database or file group. This logicalname     uses backslash as separators to form a logical namespace    hierarchy</description>   </AttributeType>  - <AttributeTypename=“componentName” dt:type=“string” required=“yes”>   <description>Name used to identify a database or file group. May be    qualified by a logical path.</description>   </AttributeType>  -<AttributeType name=“version” dt:type=“enumeration” dt:values=“1.0”    required=“yes”>    <description>Version of a specificdocument</description>   </AttributeType>  - <AttributeTypename=“writerId” dt:type=“uuid” required=“yes”>    <description>Unique idto identify the writer. Note that this identifies the     writer classrather than a specific instance of the writer.</description>  </AttributeType>  - <AttributeType name=“instanceId” dt:type=“uuid”required=“no”>    <description>Unique id identifying the instance of awriter during backup.     It has no meaning duringrestore.</description>   </AttributeType>  - <ElementTypename=“BACKUP_COMPONENTS” content=“eltOnly” model=“closed”    order=“many”>    <description>Components that are backed up orrestored. Used to     communicate between the writer and the backupapplication during     backup and restore.</description>    -<AttributeType name=“selectComponents” dt:type=“enumeration”    dt:values=“yes no” default=“no”>     <description>Does the backupapplication select individual      components or does it backup entirevolumes</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“bootableSystemStateBackup” dt:type=“enumeration”    dt:values=“yes no” default=“no”>     <description>Is backup savingthe bootable state of the      system.</description>    </AttributeType>  - <AttributeType name=“backupType” dt:type=“enumeration”dt:values=“full     differential incremental log other” required=“yes”>    <description>Type of backup being performed.</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“partialFileSupport”dt:type=“enumeration”     dt:values=“yes no” default=“no”>    <description>Indicates whether the requestor is capable of backingup      and restoring portions of files. If no, then the writer shouldnever      generate PARTIAL_FILE or DIRECTED_RESTORE elements. Only     entire files can be backed up or restored.</description>   </AttributeType>    <attribute type=“version” />    <attributetype=“selectComponents” />    <attributetype=“bootableSystemStateBackup” />    <attribute type=“backupType” />   <attribute type=“partialFileSupport” />    <elementtype=“WRITER_COMPONENTS” />    <element type=“SNAPSHOT_SET_DESCRIPTION”minOccurs=“0”     maxOccurs=“1” />   </ElementType>  - <ElementTypename=“WRITER_COMPONENTS” content=“eltOnly” model=“closed”    order=“many”>    <description>Components that are backed up andrestored that are      associated with a specific writerinstance</description>    <attribute type=“writerId” />    <attributetype=“instanceld” />    <element type=“COMPONENT” />   </ElementType>  -<ElementType name=“COMPONENT” content=“eltOnly” model=“open”    order=“many”>   - <AttributeType name=“backupSucceeded”dt:type=“enumeration”     dt:values=“yes no” default=“no”>    <description>Indication of whether the component was backed up     successfully or not. This should be set during the BackupComplete     notification</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“componentType” dt:type=“enumeration”     dt:values=“databasefilegroup”>     <description>Indication of whether component is databaseor file      group</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“backupStamp” dt:type=“string” required=“no”>     <description>Thisstring attribute contains the identifier assigned to      the backup bythe writer. The attribute is set by the writer either      during thePrepareBackup or PostSnapshot event.</description>    </AttributeType>  - <AttributeType name=“previousBackupStamp” dt:type=“string”    required=“no”>     <description>In the case of an incremental ordifferential backup, this      identifies the backup from whichdifferences are compouted. This      attribute is set by the requestorprior to the PrepareBackup      event.</description>    </AttributeType>  - <AttributeType name=“selectedForRestore” dt:type=“enumeration”    dt:values=“yes no” default=“no”>     <description>This yes/noattribute is set by the request prior to      calling PreRestore andindicates whether the component is being      restored ornot.</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“additionalRestores” dt:type=“enumeration”     dt:values=“yes no”default=“no”>     <description>This yes/no attribute is set by therequestor prior to      calling PreRestore and indicates whetheradditional restores of      the component will follow (i.e., ull restorefollowed by log      restores</description>    </AttributeType>   -<AttributeType name=“restoreTarget” dt:type=“enumeration”    dt:values=“original alternate new directed” default=“original”>    <description>This enumerated attribute is set by the writer during     PreRestore and indicates whether the files for the component     should be restored to their original location, alternate location(as      expressed by ALTERNATE_LOCATION_MAPPING elements in the     metadata), new location (as expressed by RESTORE_TARGET     elements created by the writer) or should be partially restored     (as expressed by the DIRECTED_TARGET element created by the     writer.</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“preRestoreFailureMsg” dt:type=“string”     required=“no”>    <description>This attirbute is set by the writer during thePreRestore      event if the preRestore operation failed for somereason. It gives      a textual description of why the preRestorefailed.</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“filesRestored” dt:type=“enumeration” dt:values=“none     allfailed” default=“all”>     <description>This attribute is set by therequestor after restoring files      for the component (i.e., betweenthe PreRestore and PostRestore      events). Yes indicates that thefiles were restored successfully;      no indicates that the files werenot restored and the original files      are intact; failed indicatesthat the original files were partially      overwritten and aretherefore corrupt. Note that the failed status      can only occur inthe situation of a restore of a file where only      part of the data isrestored (DIRECTED_RESTORE) or where only      part of a file is backedup and restored (e.g., as part of a      differential backup). In thesecases a failed restore occurs if some      of the data to be restored iswritten to the file but not all. In this      case, the original copy ofthe file no long exists and the copy on      tape is not complete andtherefore cannot be used to create a      consistent copy. The onlyoption is to use a previous full backup      to restore the data. Notethat the “failed” indication can be used      to indicate that some, butno all of the files of a component were      restored. The requestore isrequired to either restore all the files      of a component or none ofthe files. However, there are situations      where this is notpossible, and the restoration of a component has      failed, but cannotbe completely undone.</description>    </AttributeType>   -<AttributeType name=“postRestoreFailureMsg” dt:type=“string”    required=“no”>     <description>This string attribute is set by thewriter during the      PostRestore event. It is a text messageindicating why the restore      failed.</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“backupOptions”dt:type=“string” required=“no”>     <description>This is a privatestring passed between the requestor      and the writer to control thebackup of the component. It should      be set by the requestor prior tothe PrepareBackup      event.</description >    </AttributeType>   -<AttributeType name=“restoreOptions” dt:type=“string” required=“no”>    <description>This is a private string passsed between to requestor     and the writer to control the restore of a component. It should be     set by the requestor prior to the PreRestore event.</description>   </AttributeType>    <attribute type=“componentType” />    <attributetype=“logicalPath” />    <attribute type=“componentName” />   <attribute type=“backupSucceeded” />    <attributetype=“backupOptions” />    <attribute type=“restoreOptions” />   <attribute type=“backupStamp” />    <attributetype=“previousBackupStamp” />    <attribute type=“selectedForRestore” />   <attribute type=“additionalRestores” />    <attributetype=“restoreTarget” />    <attribute type=“preRestoreFailureMsg” />   <attribute type=“filesRestored” />    <attributetype=“postRestoreFailureMsg” />    <elementtype=“ALTERNATE_LOCATION_MAPPING” minOccurs=“0”     maxOccurs=“*” />   <element type=“BACKUP_METADATA” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“1” />   <element type=“RESTORE_METADATA” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“1” />   <element type=“RESTORE_TARGET” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“*” />   <element type=“DIRECTED_TARGET” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“*” />   <element type=“PARTIAL_FILE” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“*” />   <element type=“RESTORE_SUBCOMPONENT” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“*”    />   </ElementType>  - <ElementTypename=“ALTERNATE_LOCATION_MAPPING” content=“empty”     model=“closed”>   <description>Mapping from a location that was backed up to a locationto     restore to.</description>    <attribute type=“path” />   <attribute type=“filespec” />    <attribute type=“recursive” />   <attribute type=“alternatePath”/>   </ElementType>  - <ElementTypename=“BACKUP_METADATA” content=“empty” model=“closed”>   <description>Default metadata element for backup. Content is a binaryhex     string. Note that the writer can store whatever he wants in the    component. This is just a simple default mechanism.</description>  - <AttributeType name=“metadata” dt:type=“string” required=“yes”>    <description>Metadata to be passed on restore</description>   </AttributeType>    <attribute type=“metadata” />   </ElementType>  -<ElementType name=“RESTORE_METADATA” content=“empty” model=“closed”>   <description>Default metadata element for passing information fromthe     writer's PreRestore event to the writer's PostRestore event. Thedata is     opaque to the requestor.</description>   - <AttributeTypename=“metadata” dt:type=“string” required=“yes”>    <description>Metadata to be passed from PreRestore to     PostRestore.</description>    </AttributeType>    <attributetype=“metadata” />   </ElementType>  - <ElementTypename=“RESTORE_TARGET” content=“empty” model=“closed”>   <description>This element in a COMPONENT should be supplied if thevalue     of the restoreTarget attribute of the COMPONENT is “new”. Itsupplies     a mapping from a the original location of the file to thelocation where     the file should be restored. There may be multipleRESTORE_TARGET     elements within a component.</description>   <attribute type=“path” />    <attribute type=“filespec” />   <attribute type=“recursive” />    <attribute type=“alternatePath” />  </ElementType>  - <ElementType name=“DIRECTED_TARGET” content=“empty”model=“closed”>    <description>This element in a COMPONENT should beshould be supplied if     the value of the restoreTarget attribute ofthe COMPONENT is     “directed”. It is intended to support partialrestoration of files or     potentially how files should be reorganizedupon restore. There may be     multiple DIRECTED_TARGET elements withina     component.</description>   - <AttributeType name=“targetPath”dt:type=“string” required=“no”>     <description>This is the targetlocation of the file that is to be written      by the requestor. Ifthis attribute is not specified then the      targetPath is assumed tobe the same as the original      path.</description>    </AttributeType>  - <AttributeType name=“targetFilespec” dt:type=“string” required=“no”>    <description>This is the name of the file that is to be written bythe      requestor. If this is not specified then the target filename is     assumed to be the same as the original file name. Note that if     both the targetPath and targetFilespec are not specified then the     original file is overwritten.</description>    </AttributeType>   -<AttributeType name=“sourceRanges” dt:type=“string” required=“yes”>    <description>This is a string of the form (offset:cb ...) where each     offset is the byte offset to start reading data and cb is thelength      of the data to be read (each is a 64 bit integer). Theranges may      not overlap and must be monotonicallyincreasing.</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“targetRanges” dt:type=“string” required=“yes”>    <description>This is a string of the form (offset:cb ...) where each     offset is the byte offset to start wrting data and cb is the lengthof      the data to be written (each is a 64 bit integer). The rangesmay      not overlap and must be monotonically increasing.</description>   </AttributeType>    <attribute type=“path” />    <attributetype=“filespec” />    <attribute type=“targetPath” />    <attributetype=“targetFilespec” />    <attribute type=“sourceRanges” />   <attribute type=“targetRanges” />   </ElementType>  - <ElementTypename=“PARTIAL_FILE” content=“empty” model=“closed”>    <description>Thiselement in a COMPONENT is supplied by the writer during     thePostRestore event. It indicates that only a portion of the file should    be backed up. There may be multiple PARTIAL_FILE elements within a    single COMPONENT.</description>   - <AttributeType name=“ranges”dt:type=“string” required=“no”>     <description>This range list has theform (offset:length ...) where      offset is the byte offset in thefile to be backed up and length is      the length of the data to bebacked up. Both are 64 bit integers.      The ranges must bemonotonically increasing and must not      overlap. If the rangelist isnot specified then the entire file should      be backedup.</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“metadata”dt:type=“string” required=“no”>     <description>This is metadata usedby the writer for restoring the      partial backup. It might forexample, include the total size of the      file to berestored.</description>    </AttributeType>    <attribute type=“path” />   <attribute type=“filespec” />    <attribute type=“ranges” />   <attribute type=“metadata” />   </ElementType>  - <ElementTypename=“RESTORE_SUBCOMPONENT” content=“empty”     model=“closed”>   <description>This element in a COMPONENT is added by the requestore    prior to the PreRestore event. It allows a subcomponent of a backedup     component to be restored.</description>   - <AttributeTypename=“repair” dt:type=“enumeration” dt:values=“yes no”     default=“no”>    <description>This indicates that the purpose of the restore is torepair      one or more files of the component. The writer isresponsible for      identifying what is to be restored using aDIRECTED_TARGET      element.</description>    </AttributeType>   <attribute type=“logicalPath” />    <attribute type=“componentName”/>    <attribute type=“repair” />   </ElementType>  - <ElementTypename=“SNAPSHOT_SET_DESCRIPTION” content=“eltOnly”     model=“closed”>   <description>This describes a snapshot, including the snapshot set idas     well as the volume information for the snapshotted    volumes</description>   - <AttributeType name=“snapshotSetId”dt:type=“uuid” required=“yes”>     <description>this is the uniqueidentifier for the      snapshot</description>    </AttributeType>   -<AttributeType name=“context” dt:type=“ui4” required=“yes”>    <description>this is the context used to create the     snapshot</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“metadata” dt:type=“string” required=“no”>     <description>this isprivate metadata about the snapshot      set</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“description”dt:type=“string” required=“no”>     <description>this is a userdescription of the snapshot</description>    </AttributeType>   <attribute type=“snapshotSetId” />    <attribute type=“context” />   <attribute type=“description” />    <attribute type=“metadata” />   <element type=“SNAPSHOT_DESCRIPTION” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“*” />  </ElementType>  - <ElementType name=“SNAPSHOT_DESCRIPTION”content=“eltOnly”     model=“closed”>    <description>This is thedescription of a snapshotted volume</description>   - <AttributeTypename=“snapshotId” dt:type=“uuid” required=“yes”>     <description>Thisis the unique id of the snapshotted      volume</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“originatingMachine”dt:type=“string” required=“yes”>     <description>This is the machinewhere the original volume was      snapshotted</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“originalVolumeName”dt:type=“string” required=“yes”>     <description>This is the originalname of the volume.</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“snapshotAttributes” dt:type=“ui4” required=“yes”>    <description>this describes the actual snapshot attributes (asdefined      in VSS_VOLUME_SNAPSHOT_ATTRIBUTES)</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“deviceName”dt:type=“string” required=“no”>     <description>This is the internaldevice name for the snapshotted      volume. This can be used if thesnapshot is not      exposed.</description>    </AttributeType>   -<AttributeType name=“exposedName” dt:type=“string” required=“no”>    <description>This is the exposed name of the snapshot     volume</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“exposedPath” dt:type=“string” required=“no”>     <description>Ifonly a subdirectory is exposed, this is the path to that     subdirectory.</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“providerId” dt:type=“uuid” required=“yes”>     <description>Thisis the provider that surfaced the      snapshot</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“timestamp” dt:type=“ui8”required=“yes”>     <description>this is when the snapshot set wascreated.</description>    </AttributeType>    <attributetype=“snapshotId” />    <attribute type=“providerId” />    <attributetype=“snapshotAttributes” />    <attribute type=“originatingMachine” />   <attribute type=“originalvolumeName” />    <attributetype=“timestamp” />    <attribute type=“deviceName” />    <attributetype=“exposedPath” />    <attribute type=“exposedName” />    <elementtype=“LUN_MAPPING” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“*” />   </ElementType>  -<ElementType name=“LUN_MAPPING” content=“eltOnly” model=“closed”>   <description>Actual mapping of source lun to a destinationlun</description>    <element type=“SOURCE_LUN” minOccurs=“1”maxOccurs=“1” />    <element type=“DESTINATION_LUN” minOccurs=“1”maxOccurs=“1” />    <element type=“DISK_EXTENT” minOccurs=“1”maxOccurs=“*” />   </ElementType>  - <ElementType name=“DISK_EXTENT”content=“empty” model=“closed”>    <description>A particular disk extenton a LUN</description>   - <AttributeType name=“startingOffset”dt:type=“ui8” required=“yes”>     <description>starting offset of theextent in sectors</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“extentLength” dt:type=“ui8” required=“yes”>    <description>length of the extent in sectors</description>   </AttributeType>    <attribute type=“startingOffset” />    <attributetype=“extentLength” />   </ElementType>  - <ElementTypename=“SOURCE_LUN” content=“eltOnly” model=“closed”>    <description>Theinformation for the lun on the originating     volume</description>   <element type=“LUN_INFORMATION” />   </ElementType>  - <ElementTypename=“DESTINATION_LUN” content=“eltOnly” model=“closed”>   <description>The information for the lun on the snapshotted    volume</description>    <element type=“LUN_INFORMATION” />  </ElementType>  - <ElementType name=“INTERCONNECT_DESCRIPTION”content=“empty”     model=“closed”>    <description>An interconnectaddress including the address     type</description>   - <AttributeTypename=“interconnectAddressType” dt:type=“enumeration”     dt:values=“FCFSFCPH FCPH3 MAC” required=“yes”>     <description>interconnect addresstype. Describes type of the      interconnect address stored in theinterconnectAddress      attribute</description>    </AttributeType>   -<AttributeType name=“port” dt:type=“string” required=“no”>    <description>Port through which the interconnect address is referred     to. Note that the same device may have different interconnect     addresses through different ports.</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“interconnectAddress”dt:type=“string” required=“yes”>     <description>World Wide name orother interconnect address of the      device</description>   </AttributeType>    <attribute type=“interconnectAddressType” />   <attribute type=“port” />    <attribute type=“interconnectAddress” />  </ElementType>  - <ElementType name=“LUN_INFORMATION”content=“eltOnly” model=“closed”>    <description>enough of the locationand name of the lun to transport it.     TBD</description>   -<AttributeType name=“busType” dt:type=“enumeration” dt:values=“ScsiAtapi     Ata 1394 Ssa Fibre Usb RAID” required=“yes”>    <description>Type of bus that the LUN is attached to</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“deviceType” dt:type=“ui1”required=“yes”>     <description>SCSI-2 device type</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“deviceTypeModifier”dt:type=“ui1” required=“yes”>     <description>SCSI-2 device typemodifier (if any) - this may be      0</description>    </AttributeType>  - <AttributeType name=“commandQueueing” dt:type=“enumeration”    dt:values=“yes no” default=“no”>     <description>Flag indicatingwhether the device can support mulitple      outstanding commands. Theactual synchronization in this case is      the responsibility of theport driver.</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“vendorId” dt:type=“string” required=“no”>    <description>Optional string identifying the vendor</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“productId” dt:type=“string”required=“no”>     <description>Optional string identifying theproduct</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“productRevision” dt:type=“string” required=“no”>    <description>Optional product revision information</description>   </AttributeType>   - <AttributeType name=“serialNumber”dt:type=“string” required=“no”>     <description>Optional serial numberof the device</description>    </AttributeType>   - <AttributeTypename=“diskSignature” dt:type=“uuid” required=“yes”>    <description>Disk signature or GUID. If a signature than all but the     lower 32 bits of the GUID are 0.</description>    </AttributeType>  - <AttributeType name=“deviceIdentification” dt:type=“string”required=“yes”>     <description>UUENCODED binary for the deviceidentification page as      defined by the STORAGE_DEVICE_ID_DESCRIPTORstructure. This      contains the vendor id, EUI-64 id, FC-PH name, andvendor      specific data.</description>    </AttributeType>    <elementtype=“INTERCONNECT_DESCRIPTION” minOccurs=“0”     maxOccurs=“*” />   <attribute type=“deviceType” />    <attributetype=“deviceTypeModifier” />    <attribute type=“commandQueueing” />   <attribute type=“busType” />    <attribute type=“vendorId” />   <attribute type=“productId” />    <attribute type=“productRevision”/>    <attribute type=“serialNumber” />    <attributetype=“diskSignature” />    <attribute type=“deviceIdentification” />  </ElementType>  </Schema>

1. In a distributed computer network, a method of transporting data froma sending host computer system to a receiving host computer system,wherein the data is stored on a volume of information, the methodcomprising: creating a point-in-time copy of the volume; generating abackup components document, wherein the backup components documentincludes location information related to the point-in-time copy;importing the backup components document to the receiving host computersystem; and accessing the point-in-time copy using the locationinformation in the backup components document.
 2. A method as defined inclaim 1, wherein the backup components document comprises: aself-contained description of where the point-in-time copy resides andhow the point-in-time copy is to be restored.
 3. A method as defined inclaim 2, wherein the backup components document further comprises: adescription of physical resources necessary to restore and access thepoint-in-time copy.
 4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein thevolume is one of a plurality of volumes stored on a plurality of logicalunit numbers (LUNs), the method further comprising: identifying theplurality of volumes to be copied and transported; wherein the creatingact comprises creating a point-in-time copy of the plurality of volumes;importing the point-in-time copy of the plurality of volumes onto thereceiving host computer system; and reconstructing information relatingto mapping information associated with the plurality of volumes to thepoint-in-time copy of the plurality of volumes.
 5. A method as definedin claim 4, further comprising: following the act of identifying theplurality of volumes to be copied and transported and prior to the actof creating the point-in-time copy of the plurality of volumes,determining the plurality of LUNs that compose the plurality of volumes;polling a plurality of providers in the network environment to determinewhether the plurality of LUNs that compose the plurality of volumes aresupported; determining one provider that supports the plurality of LUNsthat compose the plurality of volumes to create the point-in-time copyof the plurality of volumes; and instructing the provider that supportsthe plurality of LUNs that compose the plurality of volumes to createthe point-in-time copy of the plurality of volumes.
 6. A method asdefined in claim 1, wherein the volume is stored on at least a portionof one or more LUNs, the method further comprising: marking portions ofthe one or more LUNs to identify the portions as being associated withthe volume; creating a point-in-time copy of each of the one or moreLUNs having a portion of the volume; evaluating the marked portions ofthe point-in-time copies of the one or more LUNs; and based on theevaluation act, hiding portions of the point-in-time copies of the oneor more LUNs not associated with the volume.
 7. A method as defined inclaim 6, wherein the act of marking portions of the one or more LUNs toidentify the portions as being associated with the volume marks theportions of the one or more LUNs as hidden or read-only and wherein,based on the evaluation act, only the portions of the point-in-timecopies of the one or more LUNs associated with the volume are unhidden.8. A method as defined in claim 6, wherein the act of marking portionsof the one or more LUNs to identify the portions as being associatedwith the volume marks all volumes on the one or more LUNs as hidden orread only and based on the evaluation act, only the portions of thepoint-in-time copies of the one or more LUNs associated with the volumeare unhidden.
 9. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the volume isstored on at least a portion of one or more LUNs, the method furthercomprising: storing the original state of portions of the one or moreLUNs to be copied; opening a volume handle to allow marking of thevolume; marking portions of the one or more LUNs to identify theportions as being associated with the volume; creating the point-in-timecopy of each of the one or more LUNs having a portion of the volume;closing the volume handle; and restoring the volume to its originalstate.
 10. A method as defined in claim 9, wherein the act of closingthe volume handle is caused by a system crash.
 11. A method as definedin claim 9, wherein the backup components document comprises an XMLdocument.
 12. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the act ofcreating the point-in-time copy of the volume comprises creating apoint-in-time copy of one or more LUNs that have stored thereon aportion of the volume to be transported, and wherein the method oftransporting data further comprises: identifying each of thepoint-in-time copies of the one or more LUNs; requesting informationrelating to each of the point-in-time copies of the one or more LUNs;and receiving identifying information related to each of thepoint-in-time copies of the one or more LUNs, wherein the identifyinginformation is stored in the backup components document.
 13. A method asdefined in claim 12, wherein a hardware provider creates thepoint-in-time copies of the one or more LUNs and provides theidentifying information.
 14. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein thebackup components document comprises an XML document.
 15. A method asdefined in claim 1, wherein the volume is one of a plurality of volumesassociated with a plurality of LUNs, the act of creating thepoint-in-time copy of the volume comprising creating a point-in-timecopy of each of the plurality of volumes, and wherein the method furthercomprises: requesting the deletion of one point-in-time copy of one ofthe plurality of volumes; and deleting one of the point-in-time copiesof one of the plurality of volumes while maintaining at least one otherpoint-in-time copy of one of the plurality of volumes.
 16. A method asdefined in claim 15, wherein the method further comprises: in responseto the request to delete one of the point-in-time copies of one of theplurality of volumes, evaluating the point-in-time copy of each of theplurality of volumes to determine which point-in-time copies of theplurality of volumes would remain following deletion of the onepoint-in-time copy; determining which LUNs are associated with thepoint-in-time copy to be deleted; for each LUN that is associated withthe point-in-time copy to be deleted, determining whether the LUN isused by another point-in-time copy corresponding to another one of theplurality of volumes; and if the LUN is not used by anotherpoint-in-time copy corresponding to another one of the plurality ofvolumes, freeing the LUN.
 17. A computer program product readable by acomputer and encoding instructions for executing the method recited inclaim
 16. 18. A computer program product readable by a computer andencoding instructions for executing the method recited in claim
 1. 19. Asystem for transporting data across a system area network, the systemcomprising: a storage subsystem module that stores data for at least onehost computer system, the data stored in at least one LUN; a requestormodule for requesting the transportation of data stored in the storagesubsystem, the transportation involving the transfer of information froma first host computer system to a second host computer system, therequestor module requesting the transportation of a volume ofinformation stored on at least a portion of one or more LUNs; apoint-in-time copy interface module for receiving the request andgenerating an instruction to create a point-in-time copy of the one ormore LUNs on which the volume of information is stored, wherein theinstruction comprises identification information related to the one ormore LUNs on which the volume of information is stored; and a providermodule for receiving the instruction to create the point-in-time copyand creating the point-in-time copy, the provider module providingmapping information to the point-in-time copy interface, wherein themapping information relates to a location for the point-in-time copy.20. A system as defined in claim 19, wherein the point-in-time copyinterface further comprises: a control module that determines whichprovider in the system supports the LUNs that compose the volume.
 21. Asystem as defined in claim 19, wherein the point-in-time copy interfacegenerates a backup components document describing the volume to betransported and wherein the system further comprises: an importer modulefor importing the backup components document and using the informationin the component backup document to access the point-in-time copy of thevolume to be transported.
 22. A system as defined in claim 21, whereinthe provider marks all the LUNs as read only and hidden and wherein theimporter module only exposes portions of the LUNs relating to thevolumes to be transported.
 23. A system as defined in claim 22, whereinthe act of exposing the portions of the LUNs involves unhiding theportions.